New Beginning
by 03Renee1214
Summary: Team Plasma has taken over the Pokemon League, Ghetsis rules with an iron fist, & is feeding lies about pokemon to the next generations, forcing them to believe that pokemon are evil creatures. Until now. Molly Waterflower is slowly discovering the truth when she helps an injured pokemon in the forest & sets out on a journey to defeat Ghetsis & discover her past-Full summary in bio
1. Chapter 1

**I own NOTHING! (Only the character that I created; Molly)**

Pokemon: New Beginning

Chapter 1 – The Wonderful, Yet Terrifying, Molly!

**The Trainer Rubric of Act 2012**

_-All Pokémon Trainer License are hereby suspended until further notice!-_

_Due to past recent events the World Pokémon League has dutifully decided that all leagues, tournaments, or any kind of related event shall be permanently shut down. Pokémon battles have been increasingly reported on the amount of damage they cause, and many people fear for the wellbeing of the trainers that command them. Many incidents have occurred were the trainer has been on the receiving end of his/her Pokémon's attack, whether it be an accident or not, and then have to be taken to a doctor for treatment. Well, no more!_

_ Pokémon are powerful and dangerous creatures so they must be treated with utmost caution. Not only do they attack when felt threatened but they are also controlled and used by ruthless villains. Every year more of these 'Team Rocket's', 'Team Galactic's', and 'Team Magma's' show up trying to take over the world, and every year they slowly get closer to that goal. How? Because they use Pokémon to do their dastardly deeds! _

_In order to protect the people of this Earth Pokémon must be removed from our lives, so that we will no longer have people like these ruffians roaming around. _

_Bill, a fellow scientist, has created a machine requested by authorities to locate any captured Pokémon if need be, and new rules have been set out for those who are trainers. _

_1) All Pokémon Gyms, Contest Halls, and Marts are now closed._

_2)All Trainer Licenses are to be confiscated_

_3)Owners of Pokémon are to either release them back into the wild, or keep their Pokémon within their poke-balls at all times._

_-Anyone who violates this rule will be arrested_

_4)Police officers and doctors are allowed one Pokémon to roam freely out of their poke-balls_

_5)Wild Pokémon are NOT to be captured_

_6)Pokémon Researchers/Professors can no longer give out starter Pokémon and must have permission to do any kind of investigations/studies_

_7)Children are now to remain in school until the age of seventeen_

_More information will be released in the coming weeks of the new requirements but the First Seven are to be followed without hesitation._

_Welcome to the New World – Ghetsis_

* * *

. . . _Twelve years later_

* * *

"Miss Waterflower, pay attention!"

A young girl, about ten, jumped out of her daydream at her teacher's shrill voice. Removing her eyes from the window, and the world outside, she apprehensively looked up to meet the furious eyes of the elderly woman. The girl swallowed, and her reddish brown eyes darted frantically between her teacher and giggling classmates, looking for an escape. She sighed when she saw none.

"Sorry, Mrs. Reagan, I was thinking . . . again."

Mrs. Reagan was less than satisfied by the statement, the girl could tell that much by the way the woman was irately tapping her foot and had her arms crossed across her chest.

"Well, if you have the time to 'think' during class then you must already know the answer to the question, Molly, so what is it then?"

The girl, Molly, blinked. "Question?" she asked.

Instead of verbally answering Mrs. Reagan merely pointed a long, crooked finger up to the board. Molly's gaze traveled over her teacher's strict writing and mentally came to an abrupt halt when she read the question.

_Algebra, _she groaned while placing her head in her hands, dread crawling up in stomach. She _hated_ math!

Above her she heard Mrs. Reagan sigh and say, "I'm calling your aunts about this after class and . . . request for _another_ conference."

Molly winced at the tone in the woman's voice. Obviously she was not looking forward to the talk with her aunts and herself. Then she groaned again when she pictured her aunts' reaction to her getting into trouble yet again. Not a pretty sight. Her ears were still ringing at the scolding she had gotten last month.

Suddenly the school bell rang overhead, announcing the end of the day, and kids hastily stood up and gathered their things, eager to leave as fast as possible. Molly couldn't but sigh in relief as she left her classroom, and began walking down the halls. As she strolled along kids of varying ages rushed past her, nearly running her over, but she merely rolled her eyes at their antics, and continued walking to the front door.

Pushing the glass doors open and walking down the school's front steps Molly was greeted with the sight that was Cerulean City. It was a peaceful place, with its beautiful river flowing through the middle of the tranquil city, and a waterfall could be seen in the distance falling over a nearby mountain. Besides its wonderful nature scenes Cerulean also had magnificent skyscrapers that shone brightly on sunny days, along with the Golden Bridge that crossed over the river. It was still the same cheerful city it was twelve years ago.

"Hey, Leader's daughter!"

Molly stopped when she heard a familiar, yet annoying, voice. Turning around she was met with the face of Gregory Wilson. Gregory was in the same class as her, and was pretty big for his age, he was also loud, brash, and very rude.

The girl dragged a weary hand through her spikey, black hair. "What do _you_ want?"

"I am here to reclaim my honor!"

Molly mentally face palmed. How could she forget? The boy came from one of those very traditional families, and his father happened to run a martial arts dojo, so things like 'honor' was very important to a kid like him. How she'd apparently 'stolen' it from him was another story entirely.

It had started ever since the first grade, back when they were seven. During recess Gregory had been bullying this little boy, and Molly, not one to idly stand by, had stepped in and demanded him to stop. Of course he'd promptly laughed in her face saying that she was too small, and weak to do anything about it, but the girl easily ignored the biting comments and kept her cool façade. She would've gone easy on him if the idiot had just left it at that, but no, he had to make worse for himself. Her still boiled whenever she thought back to those terrible words.

_"Besides you're a girl, and everyone knows that girls can't fight and that boys are better!"_

Oh boy, had she shown him wrong. Molly had tackled him to the ground and then began pulling at his hair, punching his face, and kicked his shins for a good measure too, and the whole time Gregory had balled like a baby. Pathetic. Ever since then the boy was determined to fight her again, and reclaim his so called honor.

"Get lost, Gregory," Molly growled out in annoyance, and without waiting for a reply she resumed walking.

"H-hey, wait a second-"

"-I said no!"

". . . Fine! Just you wait though, Waterflower, I'll defeat you eventually!" And with whatever pride Gregory still had intact he stomped away, his nose held high in the air, going straight for the school buses.

Shaking her head the ten year old girl headed for home. She didn't live too far away from the Cerulean School of Learning, but it does take her a good twenty minutes to get there, though she really didn't mind. It allowed her to get to know her city better and its people. Every day when she walked home she would be greeted by Mr. Clark, the bicycle shop owner, or say a few pleasantries to her neighbors and admire the city's natural beauty. Plus she really didn't like riding the bus. All the kids were rowdy and she could never get a moment of peace to herself.

When Molly finally saw the roof of her home she let out a joyful smile. There truly was no place like home, and hers was the best there is in her opinion. According to her aunts it used to be one of the Pokémon Gyms about twelve years ago, the Cerulean Gym, home to water-type Pokémon, and that her mother used to be its Gym Leader. From what Aunt Daisy said Misty Waterflower used to be known far and wide as the 'tomboyish mermaid' and that her skills as a water-type trainer rivaled that of former Indigo Plateau's Elite Four Lorelei.

Molly sighed forlornly as she thought of her mother, a person who'd she wanted to meet so bad but has never gotten a chance. That was why she wore her hair in the same side ponytail that Misty had when she was her age, so that she could fell closer to her parent. The only difference was that her hair was black, while her mother's had been orange. Though, from what she heard from Aunt Violet, that was basically the only dissimilarity between her and Misty. Apparently she had her mother's fiery temper, and tomboyish personality, but she had her father's 'thick-headed' stubbornness.

Digging out her key from her backpack Molly then unlocked the front door of her house, and former Gym, and quietly slipped inside. After hanging up her blue and white jacket on the nearby coat racket and taking off her sneakers the girl then warily looked around the seemingly empty building. To her left she could hear the T.V. playing from within the living room, and to her right she could see that no one was currently in the kitchen. Perfect. That meant that her aunts weren't here, and were most likely swimming in the gym section of the house. Carefully she made her way down the hall and tiptoed lightly up the stairs, not wanting to notify her aunts that she was home, and silently dashed towards her room.

She skidded to an abrupt halt when she saw her door.

"Hello, Molly, did you have a good day at school?"

Or more like the three angry figures that were currently blocking said door.

Busted.

". . . Hi Aunt Daisy, Aunt Violet, Aunt Lily," Molly said in a defeated voice, her shoulders dropping at the very displeased glares she was receiving, "how, uh, are you today?"

Aunt Violet crossed her arms, "we _were_ doing great until about ten minutes ago. Care to guess why?"

The girl decided to play dumb and take a wild shot in the dark. "Uh, you found out that I ate your favorite candy bars?"

Suddenly Aunt Lily's widened in realization, and she pointed an accusing finger at her niece. "Aha! So it was you, I knew it!"

"Lily . . ." Violet sighed tiredly, bringing her hand to cover her face to hide her slight embarrassment at her sister's absentmindedness.

The pink haired woman covered her mouth with her hand, and said, almost childishly, "Whoops, sorry, I forgot!" and returned to giving her niece a stern look.

"Molly, care to explain to me why we got another call from Mrs. Reagan asking for us to come speak with her this coming Friday after school?" Daisy spoke up, hands on her hips.

The ten year old unexpectedly found the floor very interesting.

"Well?" Daisy pressed on at her niece's lack of communication.

Seeing that she couldn't avoid it any longer, Molly then blurted out, "It wasn't that big of a deal, honest, Aunt Daisy, I just wasn't paying attention in class and that old bat-!"

"-Watch that tone of yours young lady," Violet cut in warningly.

"But-"

"-No buts, Molly," Daisy said sternly, "this is the second time we've gotten a call from the school about your behavior, so as punishment; no T.V, no poke-gear, and bedtime at eight for a week."

"What, but that's not fair!" Molly protested furiously.

"Sorry, kiddo, but our word is final."

Not trusting herself to speak, in case she ended up saying something stupid, Molly gritted her teeth, pushed past her aunts, entered her room, and slammed the door shut before they could respond. Now in the safety confines of her room the girl carelessly threw her backpack on her bed, and exhaustedly leaned against her door. She hated arguing with her aunts, and it always seemed to leave her completely drained when she did.

"I swear that girl is just as stubborn as her father."

Molly instantly perked up as she heard her Aunt Daisy's muffled voice carry from the other side of her door.

"Really, I thought I was talking to Misty again." Aunt Violet.

"No I agree with Daisy," was Aunt Lily's cheerful reply, "if it was Misty then she'd have blown a fuse and storm out of the house!"

"Besides, we all know how thick-headed _he_ was." Molly was surprised to hear the sad tone that her Aunt Daisy spoke in.

The conversation ended after that, and the three sisters went back downstairs to get dinner ready, leaving Molly to sit in her room alone with her thoughts. Deciding to move away from her door she walked over to her dresser and picked up a nearby picture frame. It was a photo of her three aunts and mother from about twenty years ago, making Daisy, Violet, and Lily fifteen, and her mother twelve years old at the time. She smiled in amusement at the scene the four sisters had been captured in. Lily had one of her arms around Violet, who appeared very annoyed, and had a huge smile on her face while giving the peace sign. Meanwhile Daisy seemed to be laughing and was ruffling the youngest sister's orange hair, much to Misty's displeasure.

Sighing Molly placed the picture back on her dresser and flopped down onto her bed, burying her face in her pillow.

_Where are you Mom . . . Dad?_

* * *

"Molly?"

The ten year old girl woke to the sound of her Aunt Violet's voice, and to the gentle shaking of her shoulder. Blinking in confusion she realized that she must've fallen asleep. With a yawn she drowsily sat up and rubbed her eyes.

"Dinner is ready if you're hungry," Violet informed the girl.

"Kay, Aunt Vi," Molly replied after releasing another yawn.

Once she'd gotten out of bed the duo then left her room and headed downstairs towards the kitchen, where the girl could smell Daisy's wonderful cooking. Her stomach grumbled with the thought of food and Molly's step soon became more energized as she hurried past her aunt and all but sprinted to the kitchen. When she arrived at her destination she easily spotted Aunt Lily grabbing something from within the stove and Aunt Daisy setting up the table, but the girl was shocked to see a third person calmly sitting on a stool by the counter sipping on a glass of tea.

Molly's face instantly broke out into a grin when she saw the man's fiery red hair.

"Uncle Lance!" She exclaimed ecstatically, while running over to the former Kanto Champion and wrapping her arms around his waist.

"Whoa, hey kiddo; long time no see," Lance said between chuckles. Putting down his drink the man then returned the girl's hug. "You need to stop growing kid. I could've sworn that the last time I visited you were barely past my knee."

By the table Daisy huffed at his words. "Well if you would come by more often maybe that won't happen."

"Oh come on, sweetheart, don't be like that," Lance tried to appease the woman, "you know that only makes me feel more guilty."

"Yeah, Aunt Daisy, give him a break," Molly defended her uncle, separating from the hug.

"That was kind of harsh, Daisy," Lily joined in as she placed a plate of freshly baked rolls on the table.

The blonde merely gave her sister a glare, and said, "Well how would _you_ feel if _your_ husband had to work almost halfway across the country!"

". . . not very happy," Lily meekly replied.

"That's what I thought."

Ignoring her bickering aunts Molly turned back towards her uncle. "So how long do you get to stay this time?" Her heart dropped when she saw the man's sad smile.

Sensing this Lance playfully ruffled her hair, "sorry, Molly, I wish I could stay longer but . . ." he slowly trailed off not knowing how to explain.

"But what," Molly prompted, wanting to know the reason why her uncle couldn't stay.

The former Champion hesitated, "I . . . I'll tell you when you're older."

Molly groaned, "Not _that_ excuse again!"

The man chuckled, amused by her words. "Sorry kid."

Minutes later they were eating the delicious dinner that Daisy and Lily had cooked together. As the small family ate they listened to the news that Lance had brought home with him, well the adults did; Molly was more focused on going for thirds. He spoke of things here and there about his days in Viridian City, and then would listen to how the others had been doing. Molly listened for a while but soon got bored after she'd finished her food, so she excused herself to go do her homework.

Once she heard Molly's footsteps fade and heard the girl's door close Daisy turned to her husband. "So do you have anything new about _them_?"

"The rebellion?" Lance asked with a raised eyebrow. "Nothing that interesting, just that they're gaining more followers and are giving Team Plasma a hard time."

"Sounds like fun," Violet said wistfully, "I wish we were out there too."

"We promised Misty that we would look after Molly," Daisy reminded her sister, her voice flat, "she doesn't want her daughter involved in this."

"But Misty is our baby sister," Lily pointed out, a frown on her usually cheerful face, "we should be there too watching her back."

At this Lance smirked, "oh don't worry about Misty she'll be taken care of trust me."

"But what about you?" Daisy asked her husband, her eyes worried, "if Ghetsis finds out that you're spying on him . . ."

"He won't," Lance reassured the blonde, his hand resting on top of hers, "one of the privileges of being a former Champion is that he keeps me trapped in one place where he believes he can keep an eye on me, so that makes him think that there's no way that I could be up to something. That's why he keeps me in Viridian so much."

"Alright, if you say so," Daisy responded, her worry slightly abated for now.

"Lance," Violet said, catching the man's attention, "have you heard from any of the other Champions, Elite Four, or Gym Leaders?"

A thoughtful look came over Lance's face. "Well, I know that Steven and Cynthia are also being closely monitored, but from my few short conversations with them I was able to gather that Steven and his father are secretly making various items for the rebels, but that's about it. Agatha says that all the Elite Four members are on lockdown as well, and as for the Gym Leaders . . ."

"Well," Violet urged, encouraging the man to continue.

"They're slowly dropping off the map. One by one they're 'disappearing' without a trace," Lance paused to take a sip from his tea, then resumed, "no doubt you can guess on your own where they've gone."

"The rebellion," Lily answered.

"Bingo."

Daisy's brows furrowed in confusion as a thought occurred to her. "Won't Team Plasma notice that the Gym Leaders are missing though?"

Lance nodded, "they already have, but they're not going to do anything about it."

"What? Why?"

"Because Ghetsis doesn't see them as a threat, and from his point of view, why should he waste his resources searching for people that that couldn't possibly pose a challenge to him," Lance snorted, "I swear that man thinks he's so high and mighty just because he has a legendary Pokémon backing him up."

The former Champion's biting words were soon replaced by a heavy silence as all four of the adults became lost in their thoughts, going over the information that they had just learned. As they reflected on the dismal situation their minds instinctively drifted off to better and happier times, back when they were free from Ghetsis' tyranny, when Pokémon were always by their sides, and when a boy and his Pikachu weren't forced to leave his family behind.

* * *

Molly looked up from her game of Solitaire; her homework already finished, and glanced over to her door when she heard it open. She was currently laying on her stomach on her bed, and now in pajamas, but when she saw that it was her uncle standing in her doorway she quickly maneuvered herself into sitting in a cross-legged position, her game momentarily forgotten. She gave him a radiant smile as he entered her room.

"You know," Lance began as he walked over to his niece, while avoiding the piles of clothes and toys sprawled out on the floor, "you should really clean your room whenever you get the chance. It makes it rather difficult to walk when you're trying not to step on someone's belongings."

Molly giggled at her uncle's playful tone and gave him a cheeky grin. "Maybe you're just getting old, Uncle Lance. How old are you now? Forty?"

Lance instantly bristled at the accusation, "I'll have you know that I am NOT _forty_, I am thirty-six!"

The girl shrugged, "same difference really, you just have four more years left then you'll really be old!"

Sighing in defeat at his niece's childish logic, and stubbornness, the man then took a seat next to the ten year old on the edge of her bed and teasingly ruffled her hair, which was now out of its usual side ponytail.

"So," Molly spoke up after her uncle removed his hand from her head, "why did you come up here?"

"Well, first off, your aunts sent me up here to inform you that it is almost eight, and to get ready for bed," Lance's smile then dropped a few degrees, "and to say goodbye."

"Already," Molly asked sadly.

"Sorry, kid, I really do wish that I could stay longer but-"

"-You gotta go back to Viridian." Molly finished for him.

Lance, regrettably, nodded.

"Then can you-before you leave . . . can you tuck me in? Like you used to when I was younger?" Molly requested shyly.

"Of course I can, Molly," Lance said warmly. "Now go brush your teeth first okay."

"Kay!"

Five minutes later Molly returned from the bathroom across the hall after brushing her teeth and using the restroom, and, once she had picked up her cards and set them on her dresser, she hopped back into bed. Shaking his head in slight amusement at his niece's energy, Lance then grabbed the bed's fluffy, blue covers and gently laid them over the girl, bringing them up to her chin.

"Goodnight my little Dratini, have sweet dreams," Lance said while brushing back Molly's hair from her face.

"Night Uncle Lance," Molly responded sleepily, her eyes already closing.

Seeing that Molly was just about asleep Lance began walking to the door. Turning the door knob the man quietly opened the door, flicked off the light, and, after giving one more glance over his shoulder to check that Molly was indeed asleep, he silently exited the room, closing the door behind him as he did. Though his appearance was calm, inside he couldn't help but feel troubled. The girl may have the love of her aunts and himself, but what she really needed was the love of her parents, who she had yet to meet. Lance felt a wave of resentment when he thought of his two friends. How they could just leave their only child was beyond him.

Meanwhile, though Molly's eyes might've been closed her thoughts were far from sleep. Her mind was still thinking back to what her uncle had called her. If she remembered correctly Dratini was the name of a Pokémon, but according to Mrs. Reagan Pokémon were supposed to be considered dangerous, and evil, so why would her uncle call her that?

She was _very_ confused.

* * *

**Review please! Tell me what you think!**

**And a little side note - If you guys are wondering Ash and ect. will play major roles in this story, they're just not the 'main' characters. Another thing is that, for example, Ash would've been about twenty years old when the Trainer Rubric took place, so that would make him roughly thirty-two in this story. Hopefully that helps out with the timeline. **


	2. Chapter 2

**I own NOTHING!**

Pokemon: New Beginning

Chapter 2 – Right or Wrong? The Injured Pokémon!

"Hellooo, Earth to Molly."

Molly jumped in her seat when she felt a hand touch her shoulder. Turning around she was met with a familiar head of curly brown locks and ribbons.

She sheepishly rubbed the back of her neck at the sight of her friend's irritated expression. "Sorry, Rae, I was spacing out for a minute. What were you saying?"

She had been doing a lot of spacing out lately. For example, this morning when she had been getting ready for school she had been so deep in thought that she didn't see the stairs and ended up falling face-first all the way down to the bottom. Molly just couldn't get what her uncle had said out of her head! And it wasn't just that either. Recently she's had this weird nagging at the back of her mind, making her feel restless, as if she was expecting something bad to happen . . .

_ "Goodnight my little Dratini, have sweet dreams."_

The other girl, Rae, huffed at her friend's lack of focus, seemingly irritated, but she failed to hide the smile that had slipped onto her lips.

"I _was_ asking you if you've seen the new foreign exchange student," Rae said, her smile growing, "I hear that he's from Hoenn."

Blinking in surprise, Molly swiftly conjured up what she knew about the far away region. It was south of Sinnoh, had a tropical-like environment, and had a large abundance of water. Also, despite it being claimed a 'tropical paradise'; it had a variety of different types of ecosystems ranging from dense forests to a blistering desert. She also heard that Hoenn was known for its ever changing weather, since it could be storming one minute and then sunny the next.

Molly hummed thoughtfully, "The Hoenn region, huh?"

"Yep, I hear he's a genius too."

From above the school bell rang, cutting off the girls' conversation, and starting the beginning of the school day. Molly frowned in annoyance at the hidden object, not liking the fact that she had to go through another day of torture. She became even more ticked off when Rae had to leave and return to her assigned seat on the other side of the room. The girl honestly didn't understand why Mrs. Reagan made her sit by herself, though she had the sneaky suspicion that it was because she had the attention span of a Spearow and didn't need any more distractions.

Molly's frown morphed into a scowl at the thought.

"Alright class, may I have your attention please," Mrs. Reagan's haughty voice carried throughout the room as she entered, her heels clicking on the polished floor as she walked, "we have a new student joining us today from Hoenn, so you all give him a warm welcome"

It was then that Molly noticed the smaller form trailing behind the woman, since she hadn't been listening to a word that the teacher had said, at first, and instantly became interested. Sitting up from her slouched position, she placed her chin in her right hand of her propped up arm, and raptly paid attention to the front of the classroom.

"Children, this is Aiden." Mrs. Reagan said, placing a hand on the new boy's shoulder.

Molly's eyebrows rose when she caught sight of him. He was definitely not what she had expected. When Rae had told her that he was a genius she had assumed that he would be one of those kids with his nose in a book, wearing huge glasses, and fancy clothes.

Man, she had been _way_ off.

Aiden had thick, somewhat spikey, dark brown hair, with piercing golden eyes, and seemed to be about her height. His hands were nonchalantly in the pockets of his black jacket, and around his neck was a small pendant of some sorts. Besides that he wore a simple grey shirt, with light brown cargo pants.

"Since all the other seats are taken, Aiden, you'll have to sit next to Molly," Mrs. Reagan gestured towards the girl, slightly grimacing. Aiden nodded, and then silently made his way to his seat.

Molly watched him as he sat next to her, placing his backpack on the floor by his chair, and couldn't help the smile that formed on her childish face. Finally she had someone to talk to during class!

She extended a hand in greeting. "Hi my name's Molly; it's nice to meet you."

The girl was taken aback when the boy ignored her hand and gave her a glare instead, his golden eyes narrowing in contempt. Aiden's gaze then returned to the front of the room when Mrs. Reagan began to speak again, disregarding the fuming girl next to him.

_Well, goodbye to you too jerk! _Molly mentally growled, her eyes burning holes into the boy's head.

For the rest of the day Molly made it her sole purpose to ignore the boy as much as he was ignoring her, which, she could gladly declare, was a success. Whenever they happened to make eye contact the girl would give him her hardest glare, which he returned in full, and they would sit as far away as possible from each other without leaving their desk. Their classmates seemed to catch on to their behavior towards each other and made sure to steer very clear from them, not wanting to get caught in the crossfire. Mrs. Reagan merely sat at her desk grading papers, her computer blocking her students from sight, not wanting to deal with quarreling brats.

When the last bell rang, and school was officially done for the day, Molly let out a huge sigh of relief. She wanted nothing more than to leave the atrocious building far behind her, so she said a quick farewell to Rae, and all but ran to the entrance of the school. Once she had passed through the school doors all her thoughts about the long day faded, and she smiled when she saw the beautiful, sunny weather; a perfect day for walking. Her mood now brightened, Molly happily headed home.

But about half way home though the girl spotted something very peculiar out of her peripheral vision. There seemed to some kind of commotion going on in the nearby woods that was not too far from her neighborhood. From what she could see past the rooftops of homes it appeared that some birds were gathering just above the tree line, as if they were hunting something. Molly glanced around her, wondering if anyone else had noticed the birds too, but none of the people in the area seemed to indicate that they had, or they just didn't care. Her eyes drifted back up to the bird Pokémon, puzzled. She knew that wild Pokémon lived in the forest, but she had never seen any, so it was very strange to see so many flocking together at the same time in plain sight. Extremely curious now, Molly changed directions, and started walking towards the woods.

The forest was thick, and its trees seemed to stretch all the way to the heavens with their large branches. It was also considerably darker, due to the tree branches blocking out most of the sunlight, so Molly made sure to tread carefully in case she accidently stepped on something living. As she walked she searched for any sign of why the bird Pokémon might be acting strangely, but she was drawing a blank. In fact, the girl had noticed that the forest seemed ominously quiet . . . and empty. Suddenly the trees and shadows appeared more menacing.

Molly shook her head, trying to clear her thoughts by telling herself that she was being silly, but she still couldn't help the chill that went down her spine when a slight breeze blew by. Warily she continued walking; starting to wonder if this had been a good idea. Pokémon _were_ considered dangerous for a reason. Perhaps it would be wise to quit while she was ahead? Molly's stubborn side instantly fought against the proposition, not liking the thought of being a quitter, her pride wouldn't allow her to give up so easily, and especially if it was because she had been slightly scared of a couple shadows. Her courage and determination renewed, Molly began to walk at a faster pace, confidence growing with each step.

After a few minutes of aimlessly wandering around Molly paused when she heard something; the cawing of birds. Grinning in excitement, she quickly ran towards the noise, anticipation building up inside of her. The ten year old had no idea how long she ran, but eventually she stumbled upon a clearing, and in the center of it was a flock of Spearow. Even though she had never seen the flying-type before, Molly recognized the Pokémon from her text books at school that she had been forced to read. If she remembered correctly, Spearow were easily angered, very protective of their territory, and _not_ to be taken lightly.

The girl bit her lip. She wanted to know what had gotten them worked up into such frenzy, but . . . she was rather hesitant to get closer, in fear that she would get pecked to death. Looking around the clearing Molly sought for a way to get closer to the furious Spearow, without getting detected. Her eyes landed on a large boulder about twenty feet away from where the Pokémon were gathered, and an idea started forming in her head.

Cautiously she left the cover of the trees, and, as silently as she could, slowly crept up to the boulder, her eyes never leaving the Spearow. When she was safely hidden once again behind the large stone, Molly let out a breath she hadn't realized that she'd been holding, and warily poked her head out from behind her hiding spot.

What she saw shocked her.

It was another Pokémon that the Spearow were mercilessly attacking, one that Molly did not recognize. It was small, and was covered in brown fur, but that was all the girl could see of the creature since it was curled up into a tight ball, no doubt trying to protect itself from its assailants. The poor thing, it must've accidently stumbled upon the Spearow's territory, and now the furious flying-type Pokémon were punishing it.

"EEV!" The poor creature cried out in pain as it was continually jabbed by sharp beaks, curling up even tighter.

Molly felt her heart break as she watched the terrible scene. She shouldn't have come here. She didn't want to see this. And that confused her. All her life she had been told that Pokémon were evil, dangerous, and to stay as far away as possible from them, that Pokémon were the reason why so much suffering had happened in the past. This is what it deserved . . . right? Molly didn't know for certain, but she _did_ know that she had seen enough. She was just about to stand up and walk away, but her movements came to an abrupt halt when she heard the Pokémon cry out in pain once again.

The girl squeezed her eyes shut, conflicted. No one, not even a Pokémon, deserved to die like this, but . . . _What can I do? _Absolutely nothing, so she should leave while she had the chance. Her body was frozen though, and guilt gnawed at her insides. How could she just ignore this? There was no way that she would be able to pretend that this never happened if she walked away. She had to help, but how? Those Spearow, though small, were very powerful, and she was just some little kid.

Molly desperately looked at her surroundings, hoping to find some kind of weapon that she could use to help, but all she could see was grass, dirt, and rocks.

_Wait, rocks . . . ?_

Leaning forward the girl thoughtfully picked up a nearby rock, and stared at it, pondering over her options, which weren't very many. Molly groaned in frustration when no creative inspirations came to her, and banged her head on the boulder.

_What am I supposed to do with these? Throw them? Only a complete idiot would do that!_

Little did she realize the irony of her situation.

The girl flinched when she heard another pained cry coming from behind the boulder, and her grip on the rock tightened. She didn't have much time left to try and come up with a plan. It wouldn't be too long before the Spearow ended up killing the poor thing.

Her mind was made up.

Taking a deep breath, Molly then stood up from her crouched position, and stepped away from her safe hiding spot, announcing her presence to the wild Pokémon.

"Hey, bird brains!" She shouted at the Spearow, who had momentarily ceased their attacking once they had noticed her. They gave the human girl curious, yet annoyed looks.

"Take _this_!" Raising her arm above her head, Molly then threw the rock at the closest Spearow as hard as she could.

The rock sailed through the air, creating a slight whistle as it flew by, and brutally slammed dead center into the head of the unsuspecting Spearow. The flying-type gave out a startled cry as it was hit, and stumbled backwards, flailing its wings as it did so.

Molly smirked as she watched the scene, inwardly dancing in victory, but her smirk dropped from her face when she caught sight of the look she was receiving from the rest of the flock. They were glaring at her, and their feathers were dangerously ruffled, as if they were barely restraining untold fury. Needless to say they did _not_ look happy. Not happy at all.

Fear crawling up her spine, the girl took a nervous step back, sweat forming on her forehead from the intense gaze. She bit back a startled scream when the Spearow suddenly started to unleash cries of outrage after her slight movement. Apparently one small action was all it took to set them off, because they abandoned their previous target, and focused their energy on Molly. The ten year old barely had enough time to jump aside and avoid an oncoming Quick Attack, and, without looking back, Molly sprinted for the trees, wanting to put as much distance between her and the angry Pokémon.

The Spearow eagerly took this as an open invitation of pursuit, and were quick to follow. As she ran, Molly could easily hear the cries of the bird Pokémon from above over her own breathing, which was now coming out in short, terrified pants. Trying not to panic, her eyes desperately scanned the forest around her, searching for an escape. To her dismay she found none, and continued to run for her life, willing her legs to move faster.

_Stupid! Stupid! STUPID!_ The girl mentally yelled at herself as she ran. What had she been thinking? Correction; she _hadn't_ been thinking.

It seemed that she hadn't been running fast enough, because the next moment Molly felt a powerful gust of wind lifting her off of her feet, blowing her across the forest floor. When she finally landed back down on solid ground though, her ride wasn't over yet, and before the girl could react she found herself tumbling down a steep hill, with the momentum of the air blast causing her to fall at a faster pace. Molly's vision was all just a big blur of green, blue and brown as she rolled down the hill, preventing her from being able to determine what was up or down, so when she came to an abrupt halt at the bottom of the hill it took her a few seconds to adjust to the now non-spinning world.

The fuming shrieks of the Spearow is what snapped Molly from her daze. Swiftly she got back on her feet, preparing herself for another mad dash, but paused when she saw a slight pink glow out of the corner of her eye. Hoping that it wasn't an enemy, the girl whipped her head around, and a soft gasp escaped her lips at what she saw.

It was a Pokémon. A pink Pokémon with a very long tail, and it was staring right at her while it hovered in the air. The creature's head tilted to the side as it studied the tiny human girl, and Molly felt as if it was looking right into her very soul. It's bright, baby blue eyes blinked curiously at her, and its tail lazily swung side to side, but the girl could easily tell that there was a deep kind of wisdom emitting from those wide eyes. The pink Pokémon's gaze was suddenly torn away from the human's when one of its ears twitched, and it was then that Molly realized in alarm that the cries of the Spearow were getting closer.

"_Do you truly wish to help that injured Pokémon?" _

Molly jumped when she heard the voice inside her head, distracting her from her pursuers. "Who said that?"

"_I did."_

It was then that the girl noticed that the pink Pokémon had floated up closer to her, and was gently, yet firmly tugging at her jacket. Molly eyes widened when she put two and two together, as crazy as it sounded.

She shakily pointed a trembling finger at the creature. "I-It was y-you?"

"Mew," the Pokémon said, and nodded, in confirmation. _"I'm speaking with you through telepathy. So what is your answer?"_

"Uh, y-yeah," Molly croaked out, recalling the question.

The Pokémon smiled. _"Good. Then you should return to it." _

"But the Sp-"

"_-Don't worry about them. Now go."_

For some unexplainable reason, Molly felt that she could trust this creature, so without further hesitation she turned on her heel and started running back in the direction that she had come from. Out of the corner of her eye she saw the pink Pokémon fly up into the sky before it vanished completely into thin air, but she didn't dwell on it for very long. Instead she focused more on returning to the injured Pokémon.

It took her a few minutes, but she finally made it back to the clearing, and, Molly noted thankfully, not a Spearow in sight. Now that she was sure that she wasn't in immediate danger, the girl quickly ran over to where she had last seen the fallen Pokémon. When she found it she wasn't sure to be relieved, or worried, when she saw that it hadn't moved one inch from where it laid, tightly curled up into a ball.

Hesitantly Molly kneeled next to the injured creature, wondering if it was even still alive. Now that she was closer the girl was able to get a better look at the Pokémon, who she happily realized was still among the living, and its injuries. The poor thing was covered in bruises, and had a couple nasty gashes here and there from where the beaks had broken the skin underneath its fur. It was also breathing rather harshly, no doubt exhausted from its beating.

Raising a wary hand the girl gently ran her fingers through the Pokémon's soft, brown fur, hoping to give it some kind of comfort. It seemed to work, since its breathing started to calm down, and she could feel it starting to relax under her hand. Once she was certain that the creature wouldn't bite her hand off, she slipped her hands under the small form, and gently picked it up off the ground, her arms wrapped securely around it.

Molly smiled softly when the Pokémon snuggled deeper into her arms, thinking it was cute, and then, without any further disturbances, she began the long walk home.

* * *

Warily Molly poked her head through the back door of her home, her eyes searching for any sign of her aunts. When she spotted no trace of three women the ten year old fully entered into the house, with the slumbering Pokémon still in her arms. Silently the girl made her way through the house, heading towards her room. She did not want to alert any of her aunts that she was home from school, albeit an hour and a half late she noted when she saw the clock, but especially did not want to caught holding a Pokémon either. It was against the law, after all, and she was sure that her aunts didn't want to find out that their niece had broken it; or her uncle for that matter, because he _would_ eventually find out.

Molly let out a sigh of relief when she reached her door. Carefully she opened it with her hand, aware of the creature in her arms, and quickly stepped inside the sanctuary that was her room, locking the door behind her. Flipping on the light switch the girl then strode up to her bed, where she gently laid down the injured Pokémon on top of her covers. Once she was confident that the Pokémon wouldn't be falling off the mattress, and was, Molly hoped, comfortable the girl allowed herself to relax and collapse on to the unoccupied side of her bed, her mind reeling with the day's events.

In some conscious part of her brain, Molly knew that she wouldn't be able to relax for very long, and that she needed to treat her wounded guest as soon as possible. Pushing herself up into a sitting position the girl stared at the sleeping figure, wondering how to go about this. It was then that she remembered a 'tiny' important detail.

Molly had _no_ idea how to treat this Pokémon . . .

She _was_ only _ten_, and she was definitely no Nurse Joy or a doctor, so exactly how was she going to do this? No way was Molly going to her aunts, wherever they were. If she went up to them and asked how do you heal injuries they would either A) get the wrong impression and demand to take her to a hospital, or B) get suspicious and start inquiring why she wanted to know. Neither appeared pleasant to her so she would just avoid her aunts altogether. She couldn't go ask anyone for help either, they would most likely turn over the Pokémon to the Team Plasma members that were stationed here in the city, and who knows what would happen then.

Molly wished that she had paid more attention to Mrs. Reagan when the woman was going over medical procedures at the beginning of the year, in case something had happened and no teachers were present, and frantically searched her mind for anything useful.

_Water_, the girl remembered, _I need water to clean it! _

Quickly the girl left her room, leaping down the stairs, and sprinting to the kitchen. Without breaking her stride, Molly opened the cabinet on the bottom row next to the fridge, which contained their larger bowls for cooking, and grabbed the first one she saw. She then moved over to the sink, turned on the facet, and filled the basin with water. After she determined that it had enough water the girl lifted it out from the sink, turned off the water, and began making her way out of the kitchen.

While she walked by the refrigerator though, she noticed that there was a note hanging of it that hadn't been there this morning. Curious, Molly read it.

_Molly,_

_Hope you had a great day at school today. Sorry we aren't home but your Aunt Violent, Aunt Lily, and I have gone grocery shopping so we probably won't be home for a couple hours. Please try to behave while we're gone, and do your homework. _

_ Love, Aunt Daisy_

So that's why she hadn't heard a peep out of her aunts since she got home. They weren't even here. Which was probably a good thing, and that way she wouldn't have to hide what she was doing. Knowing Aunt Daisy, Aunt Violet, and Aunt Lily they would most likely be at the store for hours. The three always took forever when they went shopping, generally because they could never agree on anything.

Feeling slightly easier, Molly headed back up to her room.

* * *

Lance hated paperwork.

No, correction; he _despised_ it with a passion.

"You know, those papers aren't going to magically combust, no matter how hard you glare at them."

The former champion jumped with a start at the familiar voice. Swiveling around in his chair he frowned in annoyance when he noticed the amused smirk on the younger, brown haired man standing just a few feet behind him, casually leaning against the wall.

He pinched the bridge of his nose and propped his elbow on his desk.

"Dammit, Gary, what have I told you about sneaking up on people!" Lance growled out, not amused, "and how did you get inside my house? I thought I left the door locked?"

Gary's smirk grew. "You did."

Lance sighed, exasperated, rubbing his temples. Leave it to Gary to pick the lock instead of simply ringing the doorbell. "Why are you here?" He asked, though he had a feeling he already knew the answer.

The other man merely whipped out an envelope from within his white lab coat, and handed it to Lance. "To give you this," he simply stated.

Reaching out a hand, Lance took it from Gary, and, after he had opened it, briefly read its contents. He raised an eyebrow as he continued to read, but otherwise remained silent. Once he had finished he placed the papers back into the envelope and set it on his desk next to all his other work. He then glared at Gary.

"You guys want me to infiltrate Team Plasma's base at Indigo Plateau?" Lance was seriously starting to question his friends' sanity.

Gary nervously held up his hands, trying to look innocent. "Whoa, take it easy, don't shoot the messenger!"

Groaning, Lance dragged a weary hand across his eyes, leaning back in his chair. "I don't see how this is going to work. Ghetsis won't ever let me near that place! It took three weeks of persuading just to let him allow me to go to Cerulean City!"

"That's because you didn't read the whole thing yet," Gary chided, crossing his arms. "It's all planed out for you, so don't worry."

Having no other choice but to believe him, Lance forced himself to calm down. Once he was sure that he wouldn't be biting Gary's head off again he spoke up, "sorry, for that."

The younger man shrugged, "Its fine, I've bitten people's heads off too, though Grandpa always gave me lectures afterwards."

"How is the professor?" Lance asked, curious on how the older man was doing.

"He's doing good, just still furious with the fact that his research is being restricted."

"I guess I would be too, if I were a professor," the former Champion said idly.

"On another topic," Gary then pointed towards the stack of papers on his friend's desk, "why is Ghetsis making you do all that paperwork? Isn't it for Team Plasma?"

Lance nodded, "yes it is, but Ghetsis makes me do it in order to 'keep me out of trouble'. Plus it gives me some information that we might be able to use in the future."

"I still don't see why you do it. If I were you I'd just ignore it. I get enough paperwork to do at the lab anyway."

Lance gave Gary a pointed look, "and I don't see why you volunteered to be the messenger boy for the rebellion. One would think that you'd be out there fighting and knocking heads with Team Plasma."

"Touché, but as much as I would like too, I'm needed more back in Pallet Town."

"With what?" The older man had no clue what Gary would be needed for back in his hometown.

"With Gramp's work back at Oak Labs," Gary explained, a small frown on his face, "he is getting old, you know?"

"Don't be silly, Gary. Your grandfather may be getting old, but he's still strong enough to stand on his own." Lance was slightly taken aback when he saw his friend flinch at the word 'stand'. Then he mentally kicked himself at his own slip of the tongue.

Gary nervously rubbed the back of his neck. "Yeah . . . well I guess I better get going it's a two hour walk from Viridian to Pallet, so I'll see you around Lance."

With a wave goodbye Gary then left Lance to his own devices, and the former Champion could only watch with a concerned frown on his face as his friend exited the house.

* * *

Eevee. That was the name of the Pokémon that she had rescued. Looking up from her school text book, Molly compared the sleeping form on her bed to the picture printed on the page she was on. It was an exact match. Her eyes returned back to the book, and began reading what information it had on the small Pokémon.

According whoever had written this huge thing, Molly didn't bother looking for the author, Eevee had an irregular shaped genetic structure, enabling it to evolve into multiple elements through various methods. It was also quite rare to find in the wild, and was a normal-type. The girl frowned in annoyance when she saw that the book didn't offer much more information than that. Sighing she snapped the book shut and placed it back on her shelf.

Molly then glanced over at the Eevee, and crouched down next to it beside her bed, checking up on it. She was pleased to see that it was looking loads better, and that her treatment seemed to be helping. Not too bad for a ten year old who doesn't know a whole lot about medical care.

Smiling to herself, Molly gently petted the Eevee's head, marveling at how soft its fur was, but stopped when she felt it move. Removing her hand, the girl's eyes widened and her heart started to beat at a faster pace when she realized that the Eevee was finally awake.

And that it was now growling at her.

* * *

**Review Please!**

**I kind of feel like I rushed a few parts (I wrote this chapter in like three days cause I couldn't get it out of my head), hopefully it wasn't too bad, and Gary finally made an appearance! ^_^**

**Also, I was torn between having Molly's first partner either an Eevee, Pikachu, or Charmander, but I ended up going with Eevee, so sorry if you expected something different.**


	3. Chapter 3

**I own NOTHING!**

Pokemon: New Beginning

Chapter 3 – Pokémon: Good or Evil?

"Easy, I'm a friend." Molly said soothingly to the frightened Eevee, her hands held up in a non-threatening manner. The girl knew the reason why the Pokémon was acting so hostile towards her was because it was scared. She didn't blame it. How would she have felt if the last thing she remembered was being mercilessly attacked, and waking up in an unknown place with someone she didn't know was an enemy or friend standing above her? She'd probably be growling too.

The Eevee didn't seem convinced and backed as far away from the girl as it could get on the bed. Though it was still growling at her, trying to appear frightening, Molly could easily see the fear in its eyes, and in its body language. Its ears were pushed all the back against its head and its tail was wrapped securely around its small, trembling form. The poor thing was absolutely terrified.

"Don't be scared, little guy, I won't hurt you," . . . _if you don't hurt me_, Molly added silently, keeping in mind what she had been told about the dangers of Pokémon.

At these words the Eevee's growling paused, and it eyed her very curiously, probably wondering if what she had said was true or not. Hesitantly it took a step towards the girl, its eyes still wary, searching for any sign of mistrust.

Taking this as a good sign, Molly slowly held out her hand towards the Eevee, not wanting to startle it, and patiently waited for the Pokémon to come to her. She stifled a giggle when the Eevee's ears perked up, and titled its head as it stared at her extended limb; she thought the expression was adorable. Gradually the girl watched as it came closer towards her, and tried to remain as still as possible when the Pokémon sniffed her hand. She didn't want to make any sudden movements in fear that it would scare the Eevee off again.

In fact, Molly was so focused on remaining still that she almost jerked when she felt the Eevee's fur make contact with the palm of her hand, and she felt as if an electric shock had just zapped her. Returning her attention back to the Eevee she smiled when she saw that the Pokémon was happily rubbing its small head against her fingers.

"See, I'm not so bad now aren't I?" Molly said while scratching the Eevee behind its ears. "I did save you from those Spearow after all."

The words had barely left her mouth when the Eevee tackled her to the floor, causing the girl to let out a startled yelp of surprise. Believing that the reason why the Pokémon had jumped on her was because she had somehow made it mad, Molly's mind frantically tried to figure out what she had done wrong so that she could fix it, preferably before it began attacking her. She was stunned however when the Eevee started enthusiastically licking her face, its tail wagging wildly behind it.

_Is it . . . thanking me? _Molly thought incredulously, completely dumbfounded at the Pokémon's actions.

Pretty soon the girl's face was covered in Pokémon slobber, much to her dismay, and she had to hold back a gag when the Eevee accidently licked her across her mouth. Finally Molly decided that she'd had enough, and gently tried to pry off the overexcited Eevee from her torso. It seemed to get the hint that she no longer wanted to get licked because it hopped off of her when she first tried to remove it.

"Okay, okay, I get it, you're really grateful," Molly said while sitting back up. She then pointed at the innocent looking Eevee, "Just don't do that again. Okay?"

"Eev!" The Pokémon complied, giving a firm nod.

Suddenly both Molly and the Eevee heard what sounded like the front door opening from downstairs.

"Molly, we're home, and we've brought dinner!" The girl heard Aunt Daisy yell from the first floor.

The ten year old felt her heart drop all the way down to her toes, and she anxiously looked back and forth between her door and the Eevee, not knowing what to do. She had totally forgotten about her aunts! Now what was she supposed to do? She couldn't just ignore going down for dinner, they'd come up searching for her for sure, but she couldn't leave the Eevee alone either completely unsupervised.

"Molly!" Aunt Daisy called again.

Seeing that she had no choice Molly turned to the Eevee, and pointed a stern finger at it, saying, "You stay here okay, and don't leave this room. Got it?"

The Eevee just stared at her with wide, curious eyes.

Molly mentally groaned. Who was she kidding; this was never going to work. Sending a silent prayer to whoever was watching out for her, the girl then left her room and its occupant, shutting the door behind her as she went, and then bounding down the stairs towards the kitchen. She could already hear the sounds of grocery bags being unpacked, so it was no surprise when she saw her aunts moving around the kitchen putting various food items in the pantry, and fridge.

"Ah, there you are," Aunt Daisy greeted her when Molly walked in. She then gestured towards the table where two pizza boxes were currently residing, "We've got pizza, so I hope you're hungry."

Molly eyed the boxes warily. To be honest, her stomach was doing too many summersaults for her to eat. Just the mere mention of food sent a wave of nausea over her, and her thoughts were going a hundred miles per hour whenever her mind went back to the Eevee in her room. She couldn't even look at her aunts in the eye without feeling guilty.

_I think I'm giving myself an anxiety attack_, Molly thought uneasily, remembering what had happened to the teacher adjacent to her classroom. Mr. Giles had always been a fidgety old man, and even the simple things could get him worked up, so it was no wonder when he just collapsed on the floor one day during school. When her classmates had asked if he would be alright Mrs. Reagan had merely said yes and that 'he was dealing with too much stress'.

The girl considered skipping dinner altogether, but then recalled the Eevee hidden upstairs. No doubt it had to be at least a little hungry by now . . .

"Uh, sure, I'm starved!" Molly said, faking enthusiasm. "But is it okay if I eat in my room?"

"You know that you're really not supposed to eat up there, Molly," Aunt Daisy chided while placing a stack of paper plates on the table next to the pizza boxes. "Why do you want to anyway?"

"I need to do my homework." The girl lied. In reality she had no homework for the rest of the week since they were taking a bunch of practice tests for their finals at the end of the semester.

"I thought I left a note so that you _would_ do your work before we got home," the blonde woman scolded, her hands on her hips. She then sighed in defeat, "Fine."

"Thanks, Aunt Daisy-oh wait-Aunt Lily, don't put those up yet!" Molly exclaimed, spotting the berries in her aunt's hands right before she placed them in the refrigerator.

Lily paused at her niece's outburst, and looked down at the container full of berries in her slender hands. "What these?"

"Yeah, I'm going to eat some with my pizza."

From across the room by the pantry, Violet gave Molly an incredulous look, "Pizza and _berries_?"

"What? You guys are the ones always telling me to eat healthy." Molly stated in her defense.

"Just fix your plate and go do your homework, Molly." Daisy said wearily.

Molly did not need to be told twice. Hastily she picked up a plate, grabbed two slices of cheese pizza, took the berries from her Aunt Lily's hands, and bolted out of the kitchen before the three women could blink.

Back upstairs, Molly reentered her room, and found the Eevee sitting exactly where she had left it. The girl sighed in relief. At least she knew that it could listen.

"Here you go," Molly said, placing the plate of food in front of the Pokémon.

From the way that it practically dived into the berries face first the Eevee had to have been starving. The girl watched in fascination as it basically inhaled the tiny fruits, seemingly not even pausing to chew, and briefly wondered how much a Pokémon could eat in a single meal. She hoped it wasn't a whole lot, and that the Eevee was just really hungry, but the girl was starting to doubt her theory as she continued to watch the Pokémon gobble up the remaining berries, not showing any signs of stopping anytime soon. Pretty soon the plastic container that had been full a mere fifteen minutes ago was now completely empty, and the Eevee was currently sniffing Molly's half eaten pizza.

"Whoa, I don't think you want to eat that little guy," Molly interrupted, snatching the plate before the Pokémon could take a bite, "it's not exactly good for you. Besides, you've already eaten a carton full of berries; I think you've had enough."

The Eevee's ears dropped, crestfallen that it couldn't have any more food, but instantly perked up again when it spotted a small, rubber ball laying on the floor a couple feet away. Ecstatic, the normal-type bounded over to the toy, ignoring the human girl's puzzled stares, and pounced on the ball, catching it between its forepaws. The small Pokémon then began batting the round object with its paws, and chasing it as the ball rolled away.

Meanwhile Molly was smiling in amusement as she watched the Eevee play a miniaturized version of soccer across her bedroom floor, and laughed when the Pokémon accidently tripped over some of her discarded clothing. Speaking of clothes, she really needed to pick up her room. Standing up the girl gathered the remains of their dinner, and quietly left her room to go throw them away in the kitchen.

She managed to avoid being questioned by her aunts about the fact that they were now out of berries, mostly because they were too busy chit chatting at the table, and was just as easily able to sneak back up to her room without further incident as well, but she almost had a heart attack when she saw that the Eevee was standing outside in the _hallway_ by her door and _not in her room_ when she reached the second floor.

_I forgot to close the door when I left!_ Molly realized, almost on the verge of panicking.

Quickly she ran up to the Pokémon and scooped it back into her arms, ignoring its squeak of surprise, and bolted for her bedroom, making sure to _close the door_ once she was inside.

Molly's shoulders slumped in relief. That was a little too close for comfort. She'd have to remember to make sure that she closed her door from now on, or risk one of her aunts discovering their unknown guest.

The Eevee jumped out of the girl's arms, and it was then that Molly realized that she had been unconsciously tightening her hold on the small Pokémon. She smiled sheepishly at the normal-type when she noticed that it was giving her an annoyed look.

"Uh, sorry 'bout that." Molly apologized, rubbing the back of her neck.

The Pokémon huffed and rolled its eyes, but seemed to accept the apology none of the less.

The rest of the evening was spent with Molly watching the Eevee scamper around her room, playing with whatever object it could find that grabbed its attention. At one point it even started playing with her hair, after she pulled it out of its ponytail, while she was laying on her bed reading some of her school books, trying to find more information on Eevees. It wasn't much later when the Eevee abandoned toying with her hair and moved on to find something else to play with.

Wide, brown eyes scanned the room, and eventually spotted a large beach ball residing in the far corner of the bedroom. Letting out a joyful cry the Eevee tackled the round object, jumping right on top of the ball. Unfortunately the Pokémon didn't take into account that its momentum would send it rolling off of the ball and into the nearby dresser.

_CRASH! _

Molly bolted upright at the loud sound, her book forgotten, and searched her room for the source of the noise. She needn't looked far, since only a blind person could miss the fact that her dresser now had a large gap in one of its doors, where a certain Eevee's head had been just moments before. Wearily the girl dragged a hand across her face, already picturing the fiasco of explaining to her aunts about the hole in her dresser.

"Hey," she snapped, causing the Eevee to turn its head towards her, "Be a little more care-"

"-Molly, are you alright up there? We heard a crash!" Aunt Violet yelled from downstairs, and Molly could begin to hear the sounds of footsteps coming from up the stairs.

The girl's eyes widened, and she swiftly ran over to the confused Eevee, picked it up, and without further delay shoved it into her closet just as her door opened.

"Molly, are you alright?" Aunt Daisy asked as she walked into her niece's room; her face full of concern.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Molly answered, giving them a nervous smile as she leaned against her closet, preventing the Eevee from escaping.

It was then Violet noticed the hole in her niece's dresser. "What happened to your dresser, Molly?"

"Uh," the ten year old frantically tried to come up with a believable story, "I, uh, accidently kicked it."

Daisy raised an eyebrow. "You kicked it . . .?"

"Yeah, like I said it was an accident."

"Okay . . . as long as you're alright."

"You must've kicked it pretty hard though," Lily mused out loud, staring thoughtfully at the hole.

"Uh, yeah . . ." Molly trailed off, not knowing how to respond to that.

"Well," Daisy began, looking at the clock on her niece's bedside table, "it's almost eight, so I suggest you get ready for bed young lady."

Molly sighed, "Alright."

After a quick, yet fond, goodnight from each of her aunts the three sisters left their niece alone in her room. When Molly could no longer hear their footsteps she opened her closet door, revealing a very irritated Eevee.

"Sorry, but I couldn't let them see you, so I had to think fast," the girl explained, while getting out a pair of pajamas from her dresser.

The Eevee nodded its head in understanding, and, once its human companion was changed into her pajamas, joined Molly on her bed, and snuggled into one of the girl's fluffy pillows. Molly smiled at the scene, and petted the normal-type's furry head.

It was strange, never had the girl ever felt so . . . _connected_ to anyone before. Sure she had her friend Rae who was very kind to her, but even that paled in comparison to what she had felt when her hand had first made contact with the Eevee's fur. Was that how it had felt like back in the old days, with trainers and their Pokémon? Well, whatever it was, the ten year old knew that it was the start of wonderful friendship, and this was only after a few hours!

"Goodnight, Eevee." Molly then blinked, realizing that that was the first time she had called the Pokémon by its name. Her smile grew at the thought, but while she might've seemed happy on the outside, her mind was whirling when she thought back to what she had been trying to confirm all afternoon.

_Everything I've been told about Pokémon . . . is wrong._

* * *

"I feel ridiculous."

"_Oh come on, Lance, you look fine. It's just like when you infiltrated Team Rocket and Team Magma years ago_."

"At least their uniforms consisted of _shirts_ and _pants_!"

Lance heard his friend sigh through the hidden radio in his ear. "_Really, you're acting like such a child!_"

"Tracey," the former Champion growled out warningly, not in the mood to deal with the other man's teasing.

"_It's, um, really not that bad_."

"I can tell when you're lying, Tracey."

". . . _Right_," Tracey dejectedly replied, knowing that it was impossible to hide anything from the older man.

Lance mentally sighed, wondering exactly how he had gotten into this mess. He was currently riding on his old friend, Dragonite's, back, and they were flying over the deep forest of Mt. Silver, heading towards Indigo Plateau; the headquarters of Team Plasma for the Kanto region. Usually Lance wouldn't dare leave Viridian, in fear for his family, but Tracey had reassured him that his 'disappearance' would be taken care of. Besides, he was really the only one in the rebellion that had any experience in this kind of field. Not to mention the closest.

The mission was simple really. All he had to do was find the master computer, hack into their network, and figure out what Team Plasma was up to.

Well, easier said than done.

Despite the fact that the mission was going to be rather difficult, Lance knew that he could not fail, not after what he had read in the envelope that Gary had given him the day before. For some reason Ghetsis was hunting down the hidden locations of legendary Pokémon, and it was his job to find out why.

Although, the former Champion mused irritably, it wouldn't have been too bad if he hadn't had to wear Team Plasma's horrendous uniform. Why Ghetsis' followers allowed themselves to wear such clothing was beyond him. Already Lance could feel his manly pride, and dignity, ever so slowly being ripped away. No doubt the male portion of the rebellion was going to get a good kick out of this. In other words; medieval robes did _not_ mix well in modern times.

Lance was brought back to the present when Dragonite banked to the right, almost causing him to lose his balance, and saw that Indigo Plateau could now be seen in the distance, just barely peeking out behind the mountain tops. The man became grim as he stared at what used to be his old home, along with the other members of the Elite Four. Indigo Plateau used to be a place full of hope and a promise for the future, but now it was just a shell of its former glory due to Ghetsis' tyranny.

"Tracey, I have the base in my sights," Lance informed his friend through the radio link as his partner flew in closer, "so where's Bill?"

"_You'll be rendezvousing with Bill on the northwestern side of Indigo Plateau_," Tracey replied in a professional tone, "_he'll fill you in more once you land_."

"Got it," Lance confirmed. Then he patted Dragonite on the neck, "alright boy, take us down."

With one magnificent flap of its wings the dragon-type swooped down into a gentle dive, heading for the trees on the outskirts of the base. The duo barely made a sound as they soared through the air, nor when Dragonite landed back on the solid ground. Checking his surroundings to make sure the close was clear Lance then hopped off of his friend's back and returned him into his poke-ball. Peering through the trees, the former Champion began searching for the familiar form of Bill, but the quirky scientist was nowhere to be found. All that Lance saw was the huge wall that surrounded Team Plasma's base and the two grunts that were guarding the western gate some yards away.

"I don't see Bill, Tracey." Lance whispered.

"_Just be patient, Lance, he'll be there_," Tracey reassured the man; "_he probably got held up unexpectedly and is just running late_."

Lance knew that was most likely indeed what had happened. Bill was smart, which was why Ghetsis forced him to build that awful machine, but was also a very eccentric and edgy sort of person, so the scientist was no doubt forming an alibi for himself incase Team Plasma ended up discovering that the former Kanto Champion was inside their base of operations, and then began to wonder just how exactly he had gotten in there the first place.

_Paranoid little brainiac_, Lance thought in exasperation and amusement.

The man's gaze was then drawn back towards the western gate when he caught movement out of the corner of his eye. Narrowing his eyes in suspicion, Lance eyed the two visible Team Plasma grunts, who seemed to be conversing with someone on the other side, and gritted his teeth when he couldn't hear what they were saying or see who they were talking too. His suspicions quickly morphed into relief however when he saw Bill walk through the arched doorway. The scientist then said a few words to the two grunts, and after he was finished he began walking down the dirt trail that led into the forest.

Lance took that as his cue and quietly maneuvered through the thick trees, heading in the direction that Bill had wandered off to. It took him a while, but he finally found the researcher standing in a remote clearing, typing away on his handheld computer.

"Bill." Lance greeted the other man, announcing his presence.

The scientist looked up from his small device, pausing in his typing, and gave the former Champion a friendly smile. "Hello, Lance. How've you been?"

"As good as can be expected, I guess," Lance replied, shrugging one shoulder. "What about you? Surely you must hate being trapped in here."

"Yes, but is it really any different than your situation?"

". . . I suppose not." Lance decided to move on to a new topic, "so, Tracey said that you would fill me in when I found you."

"Of course," Bill confirmed, while placing his handheld computer inside his coat, "as you know our mission is to hack into Team Plasma's main computer, figure out what they're up to, and deliver the information back to the rebellion; in order to do that we must get inside their base first. Approximately ten minutes from now the grunts that are guarding the four entrance gates will be switching out with a new group to replace them, which will give us about a minute to get you inside undetected. From then on it will only be a matter of getting to the control room and finding the main computer."

"You make it sound easy," Lance said, crossing his arms, "but you and I both know that there's going be other obstacles along the way."

Bill nodded. "True, but I'm not too worried. I doubt that Ash would've asked you to come here without backup, right?"

"Yes, I have Dragonite with me in case something goes wrong."

Bill raised an eyebrow at this. "You do?" He asked, and then glanced around his surroundings, trying to find the large dragon, "Where is he?"

"In his poke-ball," the former Champion informed his friend, who became confused by that statement.

"In his poke-ball," Bill repeated, puzzled, "but won't my-I mean Team Plasma's machine detect it?"

Nope," Lance responded with a smirk. Reaching towards his belt the man unclipped the poke-ball and showed it to the curious scientist.

The poke-ball was different from the ones they had used years ago. It had the same design as an Ultra Ball, but the colors were different. Instead of the usual black and white it was silver all around, and the yellow pattern on the top was replaced by very light blue that seemed to glow in the sunlight.

Bill recognized the device instantly.

"I don't believe it," he gasped, staring at the object in Lance's hand with wide eyes, "you guys actually did it. You built a poke-ball that won't be detected by the CPD!" (_CPD: Captured Pokemon Detector, the machine Bill built_)

"That's right, but we couldn't have created it without your help, Bill. You're the one who came up with the idea and the basic components to get us started."

"How long have you guys been using these?"

Lance hummed in thought, thinking. "About ten years now, I think."

"_WHAT_!" Bill yelled in surprise, completely taken off guard. "I've been gone for that long!"

"Yes, now keep your voice down!" Lance hissed, not wanting to get caught by the guards just some yards away.

"Sorry," the scientist apologized, though he still seemed a little shocked. "It's . . . a lot to take in . . ."

"It's fine, but let's focus more on the mission at hand," Lance tapped the hidden radio in his ear, "Tracey, you there?"

"_Right here, Lance. Have you found Bill_?"

"Yeah he's standing right next to me. We're about to head inside Team Plasma's headquarters, so any last minute advice?"

"_Yes, once you're inside you must maintain radio silence at all times, if you don't Team Plasma _will_ pick up your signal and find you_."

"So we're on our own," Lance muttered to himself, "Anything else?"

"_Don't get caught_." Tracey said ever so helpfully.

Lance rolled his eyes and turned off the hidden object.

"Okay, it's almost three o'clock, so we better get going," Bill spoke up after looking at his wrist watch.

The former Champion gestured towards the other man. "Lead the way."

* * *

Molly glared at nothing in general as she walked down the paved streets of Cerulean. Gritting her teeth, her eyes narrowed as her thoughts returned back to day's previous events and the added weight inside her backpack. To some random stranger her appearance would've been interpreted as extremely determined, but to those who knew her they would've been running as fast, and far away as possible. Molly Irene Waterflower was furious, with her inherited fiery temper in all its frightening glory.

_Stupid school! Stupid teacher! STUPID BOY! _Was Molly's mental rant as she stormed through her hometown.

Today had started like any other normal Thursday, despite having an illegal Pokémon in her house. She had woken up ten minutes late as always, got dressed, ate breakfast, brushed her teeth, and had a relatively peaceful walk to school, though she did have a little trouble explaining to Eevee that it had to stay home while she was gone, but it eventually got the idea.

At least, she had hoped it did.

School had been the same too, until she had to open her backpack. Like every morning before first period Molly had chatted with Rae, then the bell would ring and Mrs. Reagan would walk in demanding their attention for the next eight hours. The only difference was that the girl had to deal the jerk, Aiden, who actually said something to her this time, though it wasn't very friendly.

"_Just don't talk to me and stay out of my way. You got that?" _

After those _fond_ words Aiden returned back to ignoring the girl, along with the kids, when their teacher began talking about something dealing with the circumference of a circle . . . or was it the area of a cylinder? Anyway, the day was going fine until lunch came around, and like every day before then Molly had brought her lunch from home, but when she opened her backpack to get her lunchbox she got quite a shock to find a slumbering Eevee in there instead.

_How_ it had gotten in her backpack without Molly even noticing was still a mystery.

Her mind had been nothing but a blank at first, trying to process the whole situation, but she was brought back to her senses when she felt a tap on her shoulder. Molly immediately had hidden her backpack behind her back when she turned around to face the person who had snapped her out of her daze. Much to her dismay it had been Aiden, saying something about her turning blue, since she hadn't breathing during her stupor. Of course Molly had responded without thinking first, telling him to mind his own business, and Aiden was quick to retort back.

Needless to say an argument had broken out between them, escalating in so much volume that Mrs. Reagan and another teacher had to physically pull them apart to prevent them from tearing each other's throats out. In the end they both ended up with getting detention starting next week.

So here she was, hours later, with an Eevee, who was in _so_ much trouble, residing in her backpack as she marched over to the woods so that no one would hear her yelling at the Pokémon.

Once she was a safe distance away from the city Molly unzipped her backpack, and Eevee happily jumped out while giving the girl a radiant smile.

"Oh, don't even give me that look. You're in big trouble mister!" Molly seethed.

Eevee's smile dropped at the tone in his new human friend's voice. Confused it tried to think of what it could've done wrong to upset the girl, but nothing came to mind.

"Vee?"

"I told you stay home! You got me in trouble at school and now my aunts are probably going to ground me even longer!" Molly shouted, pointing an accusing finger at the normal-type, but then sighed when she saw that Eevee was her giving an apologetic look, genuinely sorry. Suddenly she found her anger fading away. "Who am I kidding; I can't stay mad at a face like that."

Molly knelt down next to the remorseful normal-type and petted his head, silently showing that she forgave him. Eevee instantly perked up when he saw the forgiveness in his new friend's eyes, and responded with giving her another smile.

"Hey I have an idea," the ten year old began, discarding all thoughts of the past eight hours, and deciding to have some fun with her new companion. Not to mention a way to avoid the wrath of her aunts for a little bit longer, "how about we play out here for a little while?"

Eevee was quick to agree, and excitedly cried, "Eevee eev!"

"Alright then," Molly swiftly tried to think of a game that they could play, and grinned when one came to her. Without giving any warning she tapped Eevee on the head and took off sprinting in a random direction. "Tag; you're it!"

Behind her Molly heard Eevee let out a startled yelp, and then the sound of paws hitting the ground as her small friend chased her through the forest. The girl let out a joyful laugh as she continued to evade the normal-type's attempts on trying to catch her, which only caused Eevee to become even more frustrated, much to Molly's amusement.

Every once and a while they would run into a wild Pokémon, but so far none of them were as hostile as the Spearow, and they would just watch as the human girl and Eevee ran by them. Though Molly did get quite a scare when a Caterpie dropped down in front of her face, hanging upside down from the web it had created. She had taken one look at it and then promptly ran as fast as she could away from it. Bug Pokémon just creeped her out!

They played like that for who knows how long, and Molly had never been happier, but sadly their game came to a halt when they heard a loud boom echoing throughout the trees. Molly stopped at the sudden sound, along with Eevee, and apprehensively looked at her surroundings. From what she could tell both her and Eevee were alone, but, if she concentrated really hard, Molly could faintly hear the sound of voices coming from somewhere within the forest. Apparently Eevee had heard it as well, because the next moment he had left the girl's side and was heading towards the unknown sound.

"Hey, Eevee, wait for me," Molly cried out to her friend, hesitantly following his smaller form.

Eevee led her through the trees without showing any signs of stopping or slowing down, and every now and then one of his ears would twitch as he listened for the noise. Meanwhile Molly quietly trailed behind him, wondering where the Pokémon was leading her to as the voices started becoming louder, and for some reason the girl thought one of them sounded familiar. She soon got her answer when Eevee stopped next to a large oak tree motioned for her to come closer. Stealthily she crept up next to her friend and warily peered around the oak's wide trunk, her hand lightly resting on the rough bark that covered it.

Molly's heart skipped a beat, and her eyes widened at the scene stretched out before her.

It was Aiden.

And he was with a Pokémon.

* * *

**Dun dun DUN! Cliffhanger! ^_^**

**I feel like I was lazy on this chapter . . . probably because its not as 'exciiting' as the last two to me, but the next one will VERY IMPORTANT!**

**I would've updated sooner but I was out of town, and I will be out of town again next week so it will probably be a while till I do another chapter. I'm leaving for a _huge_ softball tournament out of state so wish my team luck! **

**Review Please!**


	4. Chapter 4

**I own NOTHING!**

Pokemon: New Beginning

Chapter 4 – A New Perspective of Things

Team Plasma had definitely changed everything that had once been great about Indigo Plateau. Like all the other headquarters that were spread throughout the world flags with the Team Plasma symbol hanged up on every flagpole, replacing the Pokémon League's own national flag, which basically announced to the whole world that this place, this region, belonged to them. Everything that Lance had once known about this beautiful place had vanished entirely. Gone were the pictures and plaques of previous Champions within the Hall of Fame. Gone was the fighting spirit that used to inhabit these walls. All of it had been replaced by Team Plasma's machines, equipment, and who knows what else they had.

Only one thought ran through Lance's mind as he and Bill trekked silently through the base's deserted hallways.

_I'm going to make Ghetsis pay for this, no matter what._

The duo had managed to sneak in without too much difficulty. They had run into a couple of grunts here and there once they were inside, but due to Lance's disguise no one had questioned them as they walked by. Probably because they figured that Lance was Bill's escort, since the scientist wasn't particularly allowed to go off on his own. Bill had been taken against his will after all, and was a valued asset, so it was a wise move on Ghetsis' part to keep an eye on the man in case he tried something funny. Though it did make their job all that harder.

"Okay, now that we're inside I should be able to hack into the security system and disable the motion sensors in the floor." Bill suddenly spoke up, bringing Lance out of his musings.

"Motion sensors?" Lance certainly didn't remember reading about this in the envelope he had been given from Gary.

"Yeah, Team Plasma only uses cameras for certain places in the building," the scientist informed his friend, "they believe that they shouldn't waste time videotaping hallways when motion sensors in the floor could work just as good."

"But won't Team Plasma notice if their security system has been tampered with?" Lance was a pretty decent hacker himself, he needed to be in this type of work, but even he couldn't do something as advanced as that.

"Not if you do it right," Bill said with a sly smirk. Pulling out his handheld computer from within his coat, he confidently strolled up to what looked like a type of alarm system on a nearby door, and his eyes quickly drifted across it, searching for something. Skipping over the small rectangular screen at the top and the keypad, Bill let out a victorious smile when he found the USB plugs on the bottom right hand corner.

Looking over Bill's shoulder Lance watched in mild interest as his friend brought out a USB cord and linked his computer with the alarm on the door. Once the connection was established the former Champion's eyebrows rose at the speed and precision Bill typed with. The scientist's fingers flew across the keyboard, seemingly without hesitation, and within seconds the red numbers that filtered past the screen turned green, allowing them access.

"Just a few more adjustments . . ." Bill muttered to himself, "and . . . got it! We are officially invisible! Now we can move freely without anyone knowing that we were here."

"Great job, Bill," Lance complimented the man, "now let's find that control room."

"Right, follow me."

Bill then led his friend down the winding hallways, using the motion sensors to prevent them from running into anyone else through his small computer, and eventually they came upon a large pair of double doors, also guarded with an alarm system. They weren't fazed in the least, for with a couple strokes of his keyboard Bill was able to unlock the door.

"There's no one in here." Lance observed, not knowing if that was necessarily a good thing.

The control room was fairly large in size, but most of its space was taken up by the many assortments of computers that resided there. Monitors of various sizes glowed in the dim lit room, each showing different sections of the security system that protected team Plasma's base, whether it be video footage, alarms, or the motion sensors. With so many screens to look after it would make sense that there would be at least one person stationed in the room, but all that Lance and Bill could see were the number of discarded chairs that were spread throughout the room.

"That's odd," Bill glanced around the empty room, "usually there's always someone in here."

"I don't like this," Lance said in a low tone, starting to get suspicious, "let's hurry up and get what we came for and get out. Agreed?"

"Agreed," the scientist then handed Lance a small device from his coat's pocket, "here's the flash drive. I'll keep watch at the door while you hack into the network. Thankfully there are no security cameras in here, or things would be a lot more difficult."

"You're the better hacker, shouldn't you be doing this?"

"Not unless you know how to supervise a whole system of motion sensors without giving away our location." Bill retorted with a raised eyebrow.

". . . No."

"Then let's not waste any more time."

The former Champion nodded in agreement, and without further delay he headed over to the main computer, plugging in the flash drive. Placing his hands over the keyboard Lance began typing furiously as he searched for the file that contained Team Plasma's plans. Once he was in the network he easily bypassed the firewalls, each one more difficult than the last, and slipped into Team Plasma's most secure and protected records. Swiftly his eyes darted over the screen, briefly reading the text and then moving on, but he paused when he spotted a file named '_Project: Pokémon 150'_. Hoping that this was what he had been looking for Lance opened the file.

As he read, the former Champion could feel dread growing steadily inside of him. This was bad. He knew that Ghetsis was insane, yet brilliant at the same time, but . . . to organize something like this? It was not an option; he _had_ to get this back to the rebellion. With that in mind he quickly downloaded the file onto the flash drive.

While Lance was busy with the main computer, Bill was carefully looking out for anyone who began getting too close to their position. He didn't dare wait outside by the door, where he was in plain sight; instead he monitored the locations of every Team Plasma member with his small computer, which was still linked into the motion sensors throughout the building. For about ten minutes they remained like that, each doing their job, with Lance hacking into the network, and Bill standing guard, but the scientist was forced to break their task when two blinking dots appeared on his screen. At first he wasn't too worried, but when the dots turned into a hallway that would lead them to the control room his eyes widened in alarm.

Now just because the two approaching grunts were coming their way, it didn't mean that they were going to control room precisely, but it never hurt to be cautious.

"Lance we got to go now, some Team Plasma members are heading this way!" Bill suddenly cried out, running up to his friend by the computer.

"Alright, it's almost done downloading, so just a few more seconds!" The former Champion informed the panicking scientist, his eyes trained on the monitor, willing the file to download faster.

"No, there's no time!" Bill said urgently, grabbing Lance's shoulder. "We got to go _now_!"

Seeing that he had no choice Lance gritted his teeth in frustration, and unplugged the flash drive from the computer, bringing the download to an abrupt halt. From what it looked like on the computer screen only about half of the file had successfully been transferred to the flash drive, and Lance mentally scolded himself for not getting the whole thing. With only half of the information the rebellion wouldn't be able to fully counter Ghetsis' plans.

"Lance, come on let's move!"

The former Champion pushed his thoughts and feelings aside as he followed Bill out of the control room and down the hallway, barely avoiding being spotted by the two grunts that appeared around the corner down on the other end of the hallway. Even though they were in the clear the duo kept on running, evading any other encounters with Team Plasma, and didn't stop till they were outside, safely hidden for the moment behind some large stacks of wooden crates.

"So . . . how exactly . . . are we going to get over that wall . . . again?" Lance managed to get out between pants. It was painfully obvious that they couldn't go back through the gate like they did before, not while it was being guarded.

"I'm afraid this is where we must part ways," Bill replied once he caught his breath, "you'll have to leave on Dragonite."

"What about you?" Lance asked in concern.

"I can't leave, even if I wanted to, because Team Plasma will notice my absence, and then it will only be a matter of time before they figure out that you were here."

Lance knew that Bill was right. If the scientist went missing Ghetsis would immediately become suspicious, and would undoubtedly suspect the rebellion for the reason of Bill's disappearance. Then the man would begin trying to figure out how exactly the rebellion had managed to snatch the scientist from right under his nose, and when he did figure it out he would also discover what they had stolen from him as well.

"You're right, Bill," Lance said with a sigh. "Thank you, for helping me."

"You're welcome, Lance," Bill gave the other man a weak smile, and the two friends quickly shook hands, as an act of a final farewell. "I really hope that that file helps the rebellion win this war."

"So do I," Lance said solemnly, recalling what he had read. If the rebellion didn't manage to put a stop into Ghetsis' plans, then things were going to get ugly very fast.

Grabbing his poke-ball he called out Dragonite, and hopped on to the dragon-type's back. The former Champion waved goodbye to Bill as Dragonite took off into the sky, thankfully no one seemed to notice their departure, and soon Indigo Plateau was nothing but a black spot as they flew farther and farther away, partly hidden within the mountains.

"Let's go home, Dragonite."

* * *

"Absol, use Night Slash!"

"Sol!"

Molly could only watch in awe as the Pokémon, apparently called Absol, unleashed a powerful attack, a wave of dark energy that ended up hitting dead center of a nearby tree, creating a loud boom as it landed. The girl instantly recognized it as the sound that she and Eevee had heard not too long ago, and from the way that Aiden was commanding the sleek, white and blue Pokémon he must be training it. Even from her spot behind the tree Molly could tell that Absol was very powerful. It moved with such grace and agility that it _had_ to have had years of experience.

Despite the fact that it was quite a shock to see an Absol out here in the forest, it was more of a surprise to find out that _Aiden_ was its trainer; at least Molly thought he was, since she couldn't come up with any other explanation. The boy always acted like he was above everybody else at school, and he lacked greatly in the social department, so the girl couldn't figure out _why_ the Pokémon allowed Aiden to train it. Surely the guy must've been a pain to deal with, he was to Molly, and she didn't have to hang around him every hour of the day.

"Nice job, Absol," the boy praised, "you're getting stronger every day!"

Molly was taken aback by the sincere tone in Aiden's voice, not expecting it to come from someone like him. She was even more stupefied when she saw a smile forming on his lips when he knelt to give Absol a pat on the head. Molly's eyes softened at the scene, thinking that Aiden looked . . . nice when he was smiling, which was _a lot_ better than the constant frown he had worn during school. Maybe he wasn't so bad after all. He was disobeying the law for his friend, just like she was, so maybe they could be friends?

With that thought in mind Molly took a step away from the tree that she had been hiding behind, attempting to approach her classmate, but what she didn't count on was stepping on a twig, causing it to snap in two, alerting the boy and his Pokémon to her presence. Aiden's head whipped around towards Molly, and when he caught sight of her his eyes widened dramatically, but only for a moment, for the next thing that Moly knew the boy's expression became determined.

"Absol, hurry, use Quick Attack!" Aiden shouted, pointing towards the girl.

_What! _Molly mentally yelled, thinking that he was crazy to attack her. "Aiden, wait-"

But it was no use, he wasn't listening to her, and she didn't even have enough time to finish her sentence because Absol was suddenly upon her, its red eyes staring furiously into her own. Realizing that she couldn't escape the impending attack, Molly closed her eyes tightly, waiting for the impact.

But it never came.

Warily she opened her eyes, and was stunned to see that Eevee was now rolling in the dirt with Absol, both of them growling, and biting at each other. The small normal-type had taken the hit for her, and while the thought warmed her heart, Molly was more concerned for her new friend's well-being. Eevee was still recovering from the Spearow attack, and was in no shape for a fight, not to mention that that Absol was so much bigger than him, the little guy would be crushed.

"Eevee stop!" Molly cried out fearfully, faintly aware that Aiden was now staring at her after her little outburst. She visibly flinched when Absol roughly threw the normal-type to the ground, but became even more worried when she saw that Eevee was having a hard time getting back up on its feet, and that his opponent was preparing for another attack, more powerful than the last.

_He'll never get back up in time, _Molly realized with something akin to horror.

Without even comprehending what she was doing the girl felt her herself moving to her fallen friend, and suddenly found herself standing, with her arms spread out, between Absol and Eevee. From behind her Molly could hear the normal-type calling out to her, no doubt telling her to move, but the girl remained rooted to the spot, staring defiantly as the Hoenn Pokémon came charging at them, its horn glowing.

"Absol stop!"

The dark-type came to a screeching halt in front of the shocked girl and Eevee at the sound of its master's voice, and craned its neck to give Aiden a curious glance.

The boy in return gave a reassuring nod, "it's alright. Stand down."

Immediately the tension in Absol's body disappeared, and the light emitting from its horn began to dim. Slowly it backed away from their intruders, giving them some space, and moved to stand by Aiden's side.

Molly stared at the two in bewilderment. She did not understand this guy. First, he ordered his Absol to attack her, for absolutely no apparent reason what so ever, and now he was telling it to stand down? Anger suddenly welled up inside her. How dare him! How dare he do something like that to her and Eevee! All she had wanted to was talk, but _no_, he just had to attack! Couldn't he see that she was the same as him! The girl could feel her fists shaking as she struggled to contain her temper.

"Are you alright?" Aiden asked her, concern barely leaking out.

And that broke the dam.

"Am I _alright_?" Did he seriously have the gall to ask her such a stupid question? "Are you crazy? Of course I'm not alright! What the heck were you thinking? You could've killed me!"

Aiden's face morphed back into his monotone expression that Molly recognized from his first day at her school, the only difference being that his eyebrows were more drawn together, making him give off an extremely irritated air about him. Clearly he was not thrilled with the way she had snapped at him. "Please, don't insult my intelligence," he jeered, "I was merely aiming to knock you out, so that when you woke up you would think that it had all been a dream."

If Molly hadn't been so furious she would've seen the sense in the boy's words, but for the moment she filled with too many swirling emotions to even consider that he had been just trying to protect his Pokémon. And that . . . he really hadn't had any way of knowing that she held a similar secret.

"Although," Aiden continued, his gaze moving over towards the Eevee that was now protectively standing in front of Molly, "I didn't expect an Eevee to suddenly appear out of nowhere and start defending you. Interesting, and here I thought you were just like all those other kids."

"No, what's 'interesting' is the fact that a jerk like you also has a Pokémon, which I do _not_ understand at all!"

"For your information Absol was given to me by my dad," the boy retorted back, sending a glare to the bothersome girl, "what I want to know is why you have that Eevee with you!"

"That's none of your business!" Moly said hotly, crossing her arms and turning her back on her classmate, like a stubborn two year old.

Aiden suddenly felt like yanking his hair out. He had tried to keep his calm composure intact but the girl was so _infuriating_, and his patience was beginning to wear thin. What was it going to take to get through that thick skull of hers? Deep inside he genuinely was sorry for sending Absol to attack the girl in such an unorthodox fashion, but he had only been trying to protect his one and only best friend, and he wasn't just going to let some girl rat him out to Team Plasma. Now though he realized that he had made a mistake. Molly seemed to be on the same side as him, but he needed her to talk in order to figure out how much she knew, and at the moment she wasn't complying, so how was he going to change her mind?

Only one solution came to mind, and Aiden mentally groaned, not liking the idea at all, but he really didn't have a choice. Swallowing his pride, he said, "Listen, if you're looking for an apology, fine . . . I'm sorry."

Molly turned to stare at him with wide eyes as the words left his mouth, disbelief etched across her face. Silently she shared a look with Eevee, not needing to speak verbally to get her question through to the Pokémon, and he nodded, confirming that the boy's words were sincere.

"Apology accepted," Molly quietly replied, lifting her gaze back to Aiden's. She then pointed to the Absol by the boy's side, "but I want some answers!"

"Alright then, but once I'm done answering your questions you have your own explaining to do; deal?"

The girl hesitated, not knowing if she should trust this boy, but then remembered why she had tried to talk to him in the first place. If she wanted Aiden to be her friend then she would have to show him that he could trust her as well. Molly sighed, "Deal."

Seeing that they had, at least, come to a temporary agreement, Aiden promptly plopped down on to the grass, sitting cross legged, with Absol lying next to him, its head resting on the boy's lap. He then motioned for Molly to sit as well, but when he noticed that she seemed rather reluctant he gave her a sly smirk, "don't worry, I don't bite."

Molly sent him a scathing look in return, and, not wanting to be showed up the 'stupid jerk', she moodily sat down in front of the boy, with Eevee resting in her arms.

"So, what do you want to know?"

Molly considered the question carefully before answering, "Why do you have a Pokémon? And . . . does that mean that there are others out there that have some too, like us?"

Aiden frowned slightly at the girl's inquiries. "Well, it's like I said earlier, my father gave him to me when I turned eight, and yes there are others like us. A lot of others, but most of them are among the rebellion."

Molly raised an eyebrow. "The rebellion? What's that?"

". . . You're kidding, right?"

"No," the girl snapped, frustrated with the fact that she felt like she was missing something important, and that Aiden knew it too.

"The rebellion is a group of people that are trying to get things back to normal, you know, before Team Plasma changed everything." Aiden carefully studied Molly's face, waiting for some kind of reaction. When he saw none he added, "My parents are also members."

_That_ caught Molly's attention. "So, does that mean you're a member too?"

The boy awkwardly scratched the back of his head. "Technically no, but I do try to help in any way I can. My mom says that I'm too young to be an 'official' member."

"But how do you all hide your Pokémon from Team Plasma?" The girl asked, confused, "Mrs. Reagan says that there's this machine that can find any captured Pokémon anywhere in the world."

"That's because we have these." Reaching for his belt, Aiden's hand grasped the poke-ball clipped to the leather accessory, unhooked it, and showed it to his classmate.

Staring at the round object in the boy's hand, Molly vaguely recognized it as poke-ball, but it definitely wasn't like any of the ones she had seen, and she had studied every poke-ball known to man in school. Though, now that she looked closer, it looked one of those-what was it?-Ultra Balls, but the colors were all wrong. From within her arms the girl felt Eevee lean in closer towards the object, eyeing it curiously.

"Is that some kind of Ultra Ball?" Molly asked, glancing back up to meet Aiden's gaze.

"No, it's called the Eclipse Ball," Aiden explained shorty, while clipping the poke-ball back to his belt, "the rebellion made them to where they can't be detected by the CPD, and gives them out to anyone who has a Pokémon and needs to keep them hidden from Team Plasma."

"Oh," the girl then looked down thoughtfully at the Eevee in her arms, and then back to the boy sitting in front of her, "I don't suppose you have an extra one of those?"

"No, so don't get any ideas." Aiden deadpanned, giving her a stern look.

Molly frowned at the boy's bluntness but decided not to pry, and moved on to a different topic. "So, I've been meaning to ask, if you're from Hoenn why are you here in Kanto?"

"My parents sent me here for safety reasons," Aiden replied, his golden eyes holding a slightly troubled look within them, "things have gotten rather hectic back home."

"What do you mean?"

"The weather, it's gone completely out of whack in the Hoenn region." The boy enlightened, while absently petting Absol's head. "The day before I left it was _snowing_ in the _desert_. It's also been raining constantly, and we've had hail as big as baseballs."

"That sounds pretty bad." Molly said sympathetically.

"It is. Dad thinks Team Plasma is messing with the Weather Trio, and that their anger is the cause of the extreme weather we've been having."

"The Weather Trio, who are they?" The girl had heard of the Legendary Bird Trio before but she had never heard of the one that Aiden had just mentioned. Then she remembered who he had said was responsible for the catastrophe. "And what makes you think Team Plasma is behind it?" True, Molly didn't like the way the organization did things, but, according to her teacher, they were only looking out for the wellbeing of humans, so they had no reason to intentionally provoke any Legendary Pokémon.

"The Weather Trio are the Legendary Pokémon from my region; Groundon, Kyogre, and Rayquaza," Aiden then sent the girl a withering look, one that clearly said 'are you stupid or something', "and _hello_! Of course it's Team Plasma. Who else could it be?"

"Just because you don't agree with how they do things doesn't mean they're evil."

"Molly, they _are_ evil." The boy tried to reason. "They're nothing but criminals."

"And how do you know that?" The girl argued.

"_Think_ for a second," Aiden growled out, slightly exasperated, "how do you think Team Plasma managed to get so many followers in such a short amount of time, especially when they came from a small region like Unova?"

"I don't know!"

"It's because they got all those other organizations to join them. Team Rocket, Magma, Aqua, and Galactic, they're all combined into one large group, and they all tried to take over the world at some point, and Team Plasma was no different; except they actually succeeded."

"T-that's not true!"

"I'm telling you the truth, Molly!"

"B-but then why . . ." Molly was at a loss for words. She had no idea that their world was being run by a bunch of low-lives, she had just assumed that they were some kind of revolutionaries, or something of that caliber. Why hadn't anyone told her the truth? Surely her aunts and uncle must've known, she had heard them talking a couple of times about when they were younger and had Pokémon, along with the criminals that had 'seemingly' disappeared not long after Team Plasma showed up, so why had she been left in the dark?

Aiden must've noticed her inner turmoil, cause his eyes softened, somewhat, and he gently asked, "do you have any more questions?"

She shook her head, not meeting his gaze, but was none of the less grateful for the change of topic. From within her arms she felt Eevee move, and then his little head was under her chin, giving her his own version of a hug. Molly smiled at the kind gesture, and she wrapped her arms tighter around the normal-type, hugging him back. Without a doubt Eevee was very quickly becoming her best friend, and she was very thankful to have him.

"So," Aiden began, interrupting the tender moment, "care to tell me how you two met?"

"Sure," Molly said, releasing Eevee from her warm embrace, who happily snuggled into her lap, and drifted off to sleep, "it all started when I noticed a flock of Spearow flying above the forest . . ."

And on Molly went. The girl was actually very eager to finally tell someone about her story, and she made sure to leave nothing out. She spoke of how she found Eevee, and how he had been mercilessly attacked by the angry Spearow. She also told Aiden about her 'wonderful' plan to get the bird Pokémon away from the normal-type, which he promptly pointed out, was the stupidest thing that he had ever heard, and ended up getting whacked in the head by her fist for it. Anyway, as her story continued to where she ended up getting chased in the forest, the boy became very intrigued when she told him about the unknown Pokémon that helped her escape from the Spearow.

"What did it look like?" He questioned the girl.

"Well," Molly frantically tried to recall what she remembered of the strange Pokémon, "it was small, and pink, and it also had a very long tail."

Aiden just gave her a look. "Do you realize how many Pokémon that description could fit?"

"You're the 'genius', so you figure it out."

The boy dragged a weary hand through his brown hair. "I don't suppose it said its name by any chance when you were 'talking telepathically'?"

"I'm not sure; it did say something that might be its name." The girl said thoughtfully.

"Well then what was it?"

"I think it said something like 'mew'."

Aiden just stared at her as if she had grown a second head.

Starting to feel self-conscious and a little creeped out, Molly waved a hand in front of the boy's face, "Uh, hello, Earth to Aiden?"

Her classmate suddenly jumped, as if he had been startled awake from a deep dream, and before the girl could ask what was wrong, he dove for his backpack that was lying a few feet away from where they were sitting, abruptly waking Absol. The dark-type seemed rather irritated with the fact that it had been woken from its nap, but Molly paid more attention to the boy that was now tearing through his backpack, throwing discarded papers and school utensils out everywhere, obviously searching for something. Eventually he pulled out a large book, and quickly began flipping through the pages. About two minutes later he must've found what he had been looking for because the next thing Molly knew the book was being shoved into her unsuspecting hands.

Aiden pointed to the picture printed on the page. "Is this what you saw?"

The girl glanced down at what appeared to be some kind of research book, and looked at the picture that Aiden was pointing at. Her eyes widened. The image was a miniaturized version of some painting, and right in the middle, flying in a cloudless sky, was the Pokémon that she had seen in the forest.

"Well?" Aiden pressed the girl for an answer.

Molly nodded. "Yeah, this is it."

"It's called Mew," the boy explained, "and it's a _Legendary_ Pokémon."

The young girl felt her jaw drop, "Really? That's so _cool_!"

Aiden gave her an incredulous look. "I just told you that you saw a Legendary Pokémon and all you have to say is 'cool'?"

"Yeah, wouldn't you?"

"No, I wouldn't."

Molly frowned. "You're such a kill-joy, you know that? How do your parents put up with you all the time?"

Aiden didn't respond, he merely crossed his arms and gave the girl an annoyed scowl.

Rolling her eyes at the boy's behavior, Molly asked, "So what _are_ your parents like then?"

A sigh escaped the Aiden's mouth. "I thought we were done asking questions?"

"So? I'm curious. Your parents sound interesting, being in the rebellion and all." She smiled cheekily at her fellow ten year old. "What are their names?"

The boy sighed in defeat, knowing that it would be easier on him to just go with it. "My mother's name is May, and my father's name is Drew. Before Team Plasma messed everything up they were both top coordinators, the best that Hoenn had to offer." Aiden smiled, though it was on the borderline of becoming a smirk, "at least, that's what my dad said, and he usually likes to over exaggerate things."

Molly laughed lightly. "They sound really great, Aiden. You're very lucky to have them."

He shrugged, but Molly could still see the smile on his face, "So what about you, Molly, what are your parents like?"

The girl's cheerful mood instantly plummeted at the innocent question. Looking away from Aiden, Molly focused more on the slumbering Eevee on her lap. "I-I wish I could tell you."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

". . . I've never met my parents before."

Aiden instantly felt like kicking himself. "Oh, uh, sorry, I didn't mean-"

"-It's okay, you didn't know," Molly gave him a reassuring smile, "besides you can't really miss what you never had, right? And I have my aunts and uncle to take care of me, so it's no big deal."

Before Aiden could open his mouth and respond, the loud booming sound of thunder roared overhead, causing both children to jump and Eevee to wake. Craning her neck upwards, Molly was shocked to see that the clouds had turned an angry gray without any of them even noticing it. Also, judging from the large amount of clouds that had gathered, and how dark they were, the girl could only assume that it was about pour at any moment, and hard. Aiden must have realized this too, because in the next second he had grabbed his poke-ball and returned Absol safely inside.

"We should probably head home." Aiden wisely suggested.

Molly was quick to agree, and handed the thick book back to the boy. "Good idea."

Kneeling down, Molly shrugged off her backpack, opened it, and gestured for Eevee to get in, where he would be protected from the rain and out of sight from untrusting eyes. At first the normal-type was reluctant to get in, mostly because he was worried for his human friend, but after she promised him that she would be fine and that they could play some more once they got back to her room, he hopped inside. With a now heavier backpack, Molly stood up.

"Huh, so he was the reason why you were trying to hide your backpack as if your life depended on it." Aiden stated dully.

Molly winced, already feeling her cheeks turning red from embarrassment, "Yeah, sorry about that."

"Don't worry about it," the boy replied with a shrug. "Well I better get going before it starts raining, so see you later." With that said he began walking away.

"Aiden, wait!" Molly called out to the boy, not wanting him to leave just yet.

Aiden paused at the sound of the girl's voice, and turned around to give her a puzzled look. "What?"

"I'm sorry too, for the argument at school, and everything else," Molly apologized with a soft, sincere smile, "You're not as big of a jerk that I thought you would be."

Aiden gave her one of his genuine smiles, the one that Molly had seen him giving to Absol earlier, and not his usual smirk. "Thanks, Molly."

"So, friends?" The girl asked, a hopeful expression on her young face.

Her classmate nodded. "Friends."

* * *

Lance yawned tiredly as he walked down the hallway of his home, and ran a weary hand through his damp, red hair. He was exhausted, and from the way his body was dragging the man knew that it had to be at least twelve by now. He had hoped that taking a quick shower would've woken him up a little bit but that didn't seem to be the case for tonight. Of course, it probably didn't help that he hadn't gotten a lot of sleep the night before. His mind had been too preoccupied with the upcoming mission that evening, not to mention that he had to get up early to arrive at Indigo Plateau on time. Then there had been the mission itself, and on the flight home it had starting raining, resulting in a rather uncomfortable ride back to Viridian, but Lance wasn't one to complain, so he took it all in stride, though it did end up giving him a killer headache in the process.

Thunder boomed loudly from the storm outside, and as Lance entered his kitchen to find some medicine for his headache he began to wonder if the bizarre weather from Hoenn was beginning to spread. The thunderstorm had come from out of nowhere and in such a short amount of time too. He suddenly felt sorry for Steven, and the other residents of the Hoenn region. Team Plasma must've _really_ enraged the Weather Trio this time around.

Opening one of the cabinets by the sink, Lance was about to grab something for his headache when the phone started to ring. Groaning in annoyance he marched over to the poke-gear he had idly tossed on to the kitchen counter, mentally cursing whoever was calling him at this hour. Snatching the up the device with a little more force than necessary, Lance glanced down at the caller I.D., and raised an eyebrow when he saw that it was none other than Tracey.

_What does he want? I already sent the information I downloaded on to the flash drive, and any other info I remembered reading from the file, to him and the rebellion, so what could he possibly be calling for now?_ Lance silently asked himself, wondering if he had accidently missed something.

Curious, he answered the phone. "Hello-"

"-_Lance, you got to get out of Viridian right now_!"

The redhead blinked, startled by his friend's outburst. He frowned. "What the hell are you talking about, Tracey?"

"_Look, there's no time to explain_!" Tracey shouted out the other end. "_You got to leave now_!"

"Not until you tell me what's going on!" The former Champion was really starting to get a little freaked out by the other man's behavior.

"_We were betrayed! There was a traitor among us, Lance, and he told Team Plasma that you were at their headquarters! They're coming for you as we speak_!"

Lance felt his blood turn cold, and his grip on the poke-gear tightened. "Who was it?" He demanded, though it came out more of a snarl instead.

"_Now's not the time, Lance! We just picked them up on the radar and it turns out that Team Plasma isn't just going after you_!"

"What do you mean?"

Tracey hesitated, "._ . . There's a second team heading for Cerulean City_."

"WHAT!" Lance bellowed into the phone, not caring if busted the other man's eardrum or not. No, he was afraid for his family more than anything. "Dammit, Tracey, that's my _family_! Have you even told _Ash_?"

He didn't wait for a reply; instead he ended the phone call, and frantically scrolled through his list contacts, searching Daisy's number. When he found it he instantly pressed the call button, and silently urged for his wife to pick up as it began to ring. All the while his heart was beating a mile a second as he thought of his niece, his sisters-in-law, and his best friend. If anything were to happen to them, he would never forgive himself.

"Come on," Lance muttered under his breath, "pick up, Daisy, please."

Suddenly there was a clicking sound on the end. "Hello?"

To Lance he had never heard such a beautiful voice.

* * *

Daisy jumped as a particularly loud clap of thunder rumbled overhead, almost causing her to drop her cup of tea, and from her spot on the living room couch she watched as Violet reach for the remote and pause the movie.

"The weather's getting pretty bad; maybe we should get some flashlights just in case the power goes out." Violet suggested, while standing up from her seat.

Lily nodded. "Good idea."

"I'll be right back." Violet then left the living room and walked over towards the kitchen in search for a flashlight.

"I don't see how Molly can sleep through this storm," Daisy commented, thinking of her niece, who was fast asleep upstairs in her room, "I know that I wouldn't be able to, not with all this thunder."

Lily giggled softly next to her sister on the couch. "I guess that's one thing she takes after from both of her parents."

Daisy snorted, "Probably."

Due to all the noise from the storm, the three sisters were currently watching a movie in hopes that they would eventually fall asleep when they got tired enough. Molly slept as if she were dead so they weren't too concerned about the sounds from the movie waking the girl up, so they had made themselves comfortable and turned up the volume on T.V. For about thirty minutes they managed to watch the movie without any interruptions, snuggling on the couch with a blanket draped over them like they used to do when they were little girls, eating popcorn, and sipping on their favorite drinks. But for the past few minutes or so the thunderstorm had escalated, and the rain was beginning to come down even harder.

"Want me to make some more popcorn?" Lily asked her sister, pointing towards the now empty bowl.

"Sure." Daisy replied with a nonchalant shrug, sipping her tea.

A second later Lily had disappeared into the kitchen, taking the bowl with her as she went, and the blonde was soon the only one left in the living room. She could still hear her two sisters moving around in the kitchen though, along with the sound of the microwave running, and Violet opening and closing draws as she searched for a flashlight. She sighed, suddenly wishing that Lance was here, watching the movie with her, even if he didn't care all that much for romance movies, or 'chick-flicks'.

Daisy jumped once again when her phone went off, shattering the peaceful silence that had befallen over the living room. Wondering who could be calling her at this late hour, she got up from the couch and walked over to where the poke-gear laid, which was resting on one of the bookshelves that was next to the T.V. Setting her tea down, she picked it up and was surprised to see that it was her husband who was calling her.

"Speak of the devil," she muttered, and pressed 'answer'. "Hello?"

"_Daisy, thank Arceus you're alright_!"

The woman's eyebrows furrowed at the tone in Lance's voice. He sounded . . . scared and relieved at the same time. "Yes, why wouldn't I be?"

"_Listen, I can't explain things right now, but you need to get yourself and the girls out of Cerulean now, Daisy_!"

"What? Lance, are you insane? We can't just leave, especially not with the weather outside!" Daisy said incredulously.

"_Daisy, listen to me_!" Lance shouted, startling the blonde. "_Team Plasma is on their way to your house right now!_"

The blonde stiffened, feeling a cold chill traveling up her spine. "But why-"

"_There was a traitor among us, Daisy! And now they're coming after you because of me! You cannot let Team Plasma find Molly! If they find out her heritage . . ."_

"I-I understand, Lance," Daisy stuttered out. It was then she noticed that her whole body was shaking, "We'll leave as fast as we-"

The woman was suddenly cut of when a loud crash echoed throughout the house, and on reflex Daisy let out a short cry of fear, which was quickly followed by her two sisters in the kitchen. Without thinking, she dropped her poke-gear and ran over towards sisters, ignoring her husband's shouts as he demanded to know why she wasn't answering. All she knew was that she had to warn Violet and Lily, and get Molly out of the house.

Daisy found her sisters in the hallway that was between the living room and the kitchen, and they were both staring fearfully at the front door that was at the far end of the hallway. The blonde followed their gazes, and gasped at what she saw. Their front door had been completely blown off its hinges, and standing on top of it was a Houndoom, which was growling fiercely at them. Glancing behind the dual fire and dark-type, Daisy brought her hand up to mouth, choking back a gasp of horror.

There were about seven Team Plasma members standing right outside in front of the front doorway, and with them were six more Houndoom, all growling as well. One of the grunts, who Daisy assumed was the leader, gave the three women a wicked smile.

"Hello, ladies."

* * *

"Daisy, Daisy, are you there, answer me!" Lance shouted into his phone, hoping that his wife would reply, when she didn't the man slammed his fist on to the kitchen counter. "Dammit!"

Ending the call, the former Champion grabbed his poke-ball from his belt and released Dragonite, not caring if the dragon-type ended up smashing things accidently due to his enormous size.

"Listen to me, Dragonite," Lance began, placing a hand on the Pokémon's snout, his voice urgent, "I need you to fly as fast as you can to Cerulean City. Daisy needs help, and I can't get there quick enough, but you can without a rider holding you down."

Dragonite crooned, his eyes showing the worry and confusion that he was feeling deep inside. He shook his head. It didn't feel right to leave his best friend here alone, unprotected, even if he knew that Lance was very capable of handling himself if he ended up getting into a fight. His trainer wasn't the same little boy that he had met years ago; he didn't need the Pokémon's constant protection anymore, but Dragonite didn't need to be a psychic-type to tell that something bad was about to happen.

"I know you don't want to leave me, boy, but I need you to. Do you understand?" The former Champion gently asked, petting the dragon-type's smooth scales.

Dragonite reluctantly nodded.

Lance smiled, but it soon vanished when he heard a loud pounding noise coming from where his front door was. The former Champion felt his eyes widen, and was just about to tell Dragonite to blast through the roof and escape, but a second later an earsplitting bang vibrated through the house, and the man immediately knew that Team Plasma had knocked down his front door.

* * *

Molly groaned from underneath her covers, it still felt way too early to be getting up for school, and her alarm clock wasn't going off, so what had woken her up? Blearily she cracked her eyes open, only to be met with complete darkness, except for the occasional lightning that flashed outside, momentarily lighting her room through her window. Sitting up, she groggily rubbed at her eyes and pushed back her blankets, even though she would like nothing more than to snuggle back into her warm bed and go right back to sleep. Glancing around her room Molly was surprised to see that Eevee was no longer sleeping on her extra pillow, instead he was pacing anxiously in front of her door, a low growl emitting from his throat.

"Hey, Eevee," the girl whispered tiredly, while getting off of the bed, and walking over to the normal-type, "what are doing over here, boy?"

Her friend didn't appear to have heard her, he just kept staring at the door as if some terrifying monster was about to jump out behind it.

Molly frowned at the Eevee's lack of communication, and glanced over thoughtfully at the wooden object that had captivated the normal-type's full attention. She didn't get what was so interesting about it, or why the little guy was acting so strangely. Perhaps the Pokémon wanted to get out for a little while? It was rather boring to be cooped up in one place for such a long time. With that thought in mind, Molly reached for the doorknob, and was about to turn it when Eevee suddenly jumped up and grab the long sleeve of her pajama shirt with his teeth, effectively pulling her away from the door.

"Eevee!" Molly gasped, starting to get scared by the normal-type's unusual behavior. She pulled her sleeve out of his mouth, faintly aware of how close he had been to biting her wrist. "What is wrong with you!"

"Vee!" The Pokémon cried out, his normally happy demeanor replaced by something more aggressive, intense, and powerful.

Molly was taken aback by his attitude, wondering if this was normal. Did Aiden ever have to deal with something like this with Absol? Whatever it was, she hoped it wasn't permanent, because Eevee was really starting to scare her. He was acting as if he was being threatened or something. The girl was about to ask her friend what was wrong when she was interrupted by a sudden crash from downstairs, followed by a couple of loud, bone chilling screams.

* * *

"Former Champion Lance, you are hereby under arrest."

Lance couldn't help but roll his eyes at that statement. From behind him he felt, rather than saw, Dragonite shift nervously from foot to foot. No doubt his friend was worried about the number of grunts that were currently in his house, along with their Pokémon. If the man was correct then there were ten members total, twenty if you counted their companions. He recognized a couple of them though as the usual guard dogs for Viridian City, but besides those two the other Team Plasma hooligans were new. Lance, reluctantly, also had to give them some credit in their choice of Pokémon as well. All of them were ice-types.

_Perfect, just perfect_, he thought sarcastically.

"So," one of the grunts spoke up, "are you going to come quietly, or are you going to do things the hard way?"

Lance snorted. "Do you really have to ask?"

And then all hell broke loose.

* * *

**This is the longest chapter so far, and I really wanted to continue it to make it even longer, but I decided to stop it right here instead. As you can see things are about to take a major twist for Molly, and the next chapter will reveal more about the 'traitor' and what not.**

** I hope that you guys liked Aiden as well, because he's going to be playing a big role in this story.**

**Also, a huge thank you to those who have reviewed so far! And for those who haven't please do!**


	5. Chapter 5

Pokemon: New Beginning

Chapter 5 – Dark of the Night

"Sneasel, use Ice Beam!" One of the Team Plasma grunts yelled out, pointing at the former Champion. His partner Pokémon grinned manically, and was quick to unleash the chilling attack, causing the room temperature to drop low enough to where Lance could begin to see his breath coming out in small clouds.

"Dragonite, Flamethrower!" Lance countered, feeling the rush of battle once again.

The large dragon opened its jaws, and as the Ice Beam came charging at him at full speed, a burning hot string of fire was released from deep within his mouth, enveloping the frail ice attack in a matter of seconds. The Ice Beam instantly melted as the Flamethrower made contact, and as a result of the two attacks a thick steam was produced, rendering everyone temporarily blind.

Lance used this to his advantage. While Team Plasma was frantically searching for him, the man jumped on to Dragonite's back, and without waiting for a command the dragon-type shot a powerful DragonBreath at the roof, blasting through all the wood and metal, to create a large enough hole for them to escape. But the loud noise from the blast must've alerted their unwelcomed guests to their general position because, just as Dragonite was about to take off, another Ice Beam soared overhead, barely missing the top of Lance's hair.

"Fly now, Dragonite!" The former Champion yelled over the rainstorm outside and the screams and shouts from Team Plasma.

The dragon-type wasted no time in following his trainer's commands. Stretching out his wings, Dragonite took for the sky as he flew through the large gaping hole in Lance's roof, and almost instantly the two became soaked from all the rain pouring down from the clouds. Wiping the water from his eyes, Lance tried to make out any form on the ground below, whether it be human or Pokémon, but due to the lack of light and the storm it was difficult to see anything. The man knew for certain that Team Plasma wasn't one to give up, so they had to be down there somewhere.

"Dragonite, do you see-AHHH!" Lance was suddenly cut off when a burning pain erupted from his right calf like a raging wildfire, just below his knee, followed by the thundering echo of gunfire. Instinctively his right hand went to his leg, trying to ease the searing agony that had been placed there, while his left clenched into a tight fist as he bit back a scream.

_Guns_, Lance managed to comprehend through his painful haze, _they brought guns!_

Dragonite, who had heard his trainer cry out in pain, immediately became frantic with worry. Looking downwards he could now see that the humans who worked for Team Plasma were now outside, and one of them was holding a small object that the dragon-type recognized as one of those human killing machines. Though the device couldn't harm him with his impenetrable scales, Lance was an entirely different matter. Now fearful for his friend's life, Dragonite flew farther away from their home even faster, flapping his wings as hard as he could as the heavy rain continued to fall.

"D-Dragonite . . . stop," Lance gasped out between gritted teeth, "land now."

The Pokémon hesitated, not knowing if landing would be a good idea, especially in his friend's condition, but he also knew better than to ignore his trainer's orders, so he gently glided down towards the ground, and softly landed with one final swoop of his wings. The dragon-type then crouched down lower than usual so that his rider would have an easier time getting off. Grateful for his Pokémon's consideration, Lance stumbled off of Dragonite's back, trying to keep all his weight off of his right leg and maintain a neutral expression at the same time. Seeing that his trainer was having a hard time moving, Dragonite gently grabbed one of the former Champion's arms and helped the man walk over to a nearby tree so that he would have something to lean against to help support his weight.

"Thanks, boy," Lance said slightly breathless, while placing a hand on tree to steady himself, "but . . . you need to go help Daisy now."

Dragonite stared at his trainer as if he had grown a second head. How could his best friend believe that he would leave him here, wounded, with Team Plasma hunting them down?

"Listen," Lance began, sensing his friend's thoughts, "in my state . . . I wouldn't be able to get . . . much farther away anyway. I'm as good as captured now, but Daisy . . . and the others, they need you _now_. Only . . . you can get there . . . fast enough."

The dragon-type reluctantly had to admit that Lance had a point, and he did care deeply for the man's family, especially the little girl. He had once had the honor of meeting the tiny female when she had first been brought to his trainer and his wife all those years ago as an infant, and he had instantly taken a liking to her when she had played with him for that one day, but it still didn't feel right to just leave his friend here.

"And take this with you . . . before you go," shakily, Lance reached for the poke-ball attached to his belt, and handed it out towards the solemn Dragonite, who carefully picked up the round object with his claws, "you're the only Pokémon I have left that hasn't been taken away from me, and I want it to remain that way. Now go."

Dragonite knew that he could not disobey, even though he really wanted to, and so, without even a single farewell, he took off once again into the dark sky, leaving his trainer farther and farther below, swearing to himself that he _would_ see his friend again, no matter what.

* * *

Molly felt herself flinch, a sudden fear clutching her entire being in its icy grasp; her body felt as if it had gone completely numb, and her heart was beating frantically, almost as if it would burst from her chest. She recognized those screams immediately, even if she had never even heard them before. They belonged to her aunts, and that meant that they were in trouble, that they needed her help.

The girl urgently reached for her door, ignoring Eevee's multiple attempts at trying to keep her inside her room, and swung it wide open. Without hesitation she bolted for the stairs, and quickly ran down them, taking two steps at time in a single stride. Behind her she could hear Eevee following closely, and she didn't need to look at him to know that he was very worried and unsettled. Now she understood why he had been acting so strangely earlier, he had been trying to protect her, from whatever had made her aunts scream, and wasn't going to let her go downstairs alone.

When Molly reached the final step and the bottom floor she looked around the abandoned hallway, and was stunned by what she saw. It appeared as if a tornado or some horrific battle had taken place in her home. Deep claw marks were embedded into the walls, furniture was knocked out of place in both the kitchen and the living room from what the girl could see, the front door was lying in pieces on the ground, and, if Molly didn't know better, the carpet look singed, as if there had been a fire. Next to her, Eevee warily sniffed the blackened carpet, and his fur suddenly stood on end as another growl erupted from his small body. The ten year old crouched down and patted the normal-type's head, trying to soothe him, but it did little to ease his nerves, or hers for that matter.

"What happened here," Molly whispered, fearing that if she spoke any louder something bad would happen, "and where are Aunt Daisy, Aunt Lily, and Aunt Violet?"

The girl was loath to admit it, but she was honestly scared; scared for herself and her family. A million questions were raging inside of her head, and she had no answers. What was going on? Who knocked down their front door? _Why_ did they do this? And, most importantly, where were her aunts?

Suddenly Eevee's ears twitched, and another loud crash echoed throughout the house, making Molly jump back up to her feet.

_That came from the gym_, the girl thought in realization.

Running as fast as she could, Molly headed for the back of the house, with Eevee hot on her heels. As she got closer to her destination, while passing by the empty and abandoned aquarium tanks that used to be filled with water Pokémon back in the old days, the girl could begin to hear the sounds of what was no doubt a fight. Unfamiliar voices echoed off of the walls, yelling and shouting in such cold, demanding tones that it sent chills down her spine, along with the multiple thuds and crashes of battle.

Molly was confused by what she heard. Her aunts were by no means athletic, or strong. Despite her young age the girl could beat them all at arm wrestling if she wanted to, and yet, if she was hearing right, it sounded like the intruders were actually having a hard time trying to overcome the three sisters. Either they were a bunch of stupid weaklings, or her aunts had been holding out on her.

Finally Molly reached the large, familiar door that divided the 'house' from the old Pokémon Gym. Painted on it was a beautiful Dewgong, and below that written bold letters was '_Cerulean Gym Battlefield_'. The ten year old couldn't help but agree with the diction. It definitely sounded like a battlefield on the other side of the door from what she could hear. Tentatively she reached for the door handle, her mind racing with possible scenarios that she might face when she opened the door. None of them were much pleasant either. Out of her peripheral vision, Molly saw Eevee tense as her hand turned the handle, and then, after taking a deep breath to calm herself, she pushed the door open.

Almost immediately, after just taking a single step, the girl had to hit the deck when a Flamethrower came rushing at her, barely missing the hairs on her head. Warily she looked up from her position on the floor, and was stunned by what she saw.

The large gym had, to be frank, been turned into war zone. The stadium bleachers were disarray and the walls were on fire in several places, which was spreading quickly, and in the dead center of the pool there was a Dewgong, shooting water and ice in every direction at some menacing looking Pokémon. At first, Molly was confused by the Pokémon's appearances, not knowing where they could've come from, but she soon got her answer when she heard the familiar, yet frantic, voices of her aunts, along with some unfamiliar ones as well. Craning her neck, the girl was shocked beyond belief to see unknown men, dressed up in wacky uniforms, ordering their Pokémon to attack the Dewgong, who was being commanded by her aunts!

Coughing slightly from the amount of smoke in the gym, Molly slowly sat up from her sprawled out position on the tiled floor, and stared at the scene in a mixture of awe and fear. It was unbelievable! Her aunts owned a Pokémon too, but, when the girl looked closer, the Dewgong didn't seem like it was in the best of shapes for a fight. Bite marks covered its body, including a multiple numbers of burns, and it was panting heavily. Quickly Molly counted up how many Pokémon the Dewgong was fighting against, and came up with seven. The ten year old frowned disapprovingly. Seven to one was unfair and cowardly, but most importantly . . . her aunts were losing, and that's what terrified her.

Suddenly a gloved hand came out of nowhere and firmly covered the young girl's mouth, preventing anyone from hearing the scream that Molly desperately wanted release, and the other tightly gripped her arm. Kicking with all her might she tried to get out of the person's grip, but he, or she, had a strong hold on her, and was not letting go.

"Hey, Boss, there's a kid here!" Molly's captor yelled in deep baritone voice; definitely a guy.

Before the girl could hear the man's so called 'boss' reply, a dark, purplish ball of energy came crashing into the guy's side, causing him to cry out and lose his balance. Seeing that her captor was distracted, Molly bit down as hard as she could the man's hand. The effects were immediate. Instantly his grip loosened as he drew away his injured hand from the girl's mouth, yelling furiously as he did so too, much to Molly's pleasure. Gasping for some fresh air, she wasted no time yanking her arm out of his grasp, then turning around to give him a good kick in the shin too. However, the ten year old was unable to extract her revenge when another shadowy ball beat her to it, this one much more powerful than the last, sending the man crashing into the nearby wall. Puzzled, Molly turned around to see where the unknown attack had come from, and was surprised to find Eevee.

". . . Did you do that?" Molly asked, while pointing at the unconscious form embedded into the wall. She blinked though when her voice came out barely over a whisper and that it felt as if it was difficult to breathe . . .

Eevee merely nodded.

The girl raised an eyebrow but didn't comment; instead she turned back to battlefield. Her eyes widened though when she took in the condition of the gym. In just a few minutes the fires had spread significantly. It was everywhere! Even the pool seemed to have an orange glow to it as it reflected the light emitting from the flames. Molly felt her stomach drop, and suddenly it was hard to breathe. Kneeling down to her knees, the young girl brought her hands up to her mouth and began coughing violently. It felt as if her lungs were on fire! No doubt it was a reaction to all of the smoke in the air.

"Molly Waterflower, what are you doing here?!"

All of a sudden Molly felt two hands on her shoulders. Opening her reddish brown eyes, the girl was met with her Aunt Daisy's scared green ones. The blonde was a mess. She looked as if she had gone through a bomb zone and back. But the one thing that stood out to the ten year old was the look on the woman's face. Her aunt looked _defeated_ and scared out of her mind, as if she had already lost the battle.

Molly decided then and there that she did _NOT_ want to see that expression on any of her aunts faces ever again.

"Quick, come with me," Daisy told her niece, bringing the girl to her feet, and walking over towards the door.

"Wait," Molly choked out between coughs, glancing over her shoulder for the familiar form of her best friend, "Eevee!"

Daisy paused between steps, "Eevee?"

As if to answer her question, a brown blur abruptly appeared seemingly out of thin air and jumped into Molly's waiting arms. Though it was covered in soot, Daisy could easily make out the rare, yet well-known form of an Eevee. The woman really wanted to know how her niece had befriended one, or where she even found it in the first place, but decided that now was not the time to play a million questions. Still, despite their situation she couldn't help but be proud of her niece for discovering the truth about Pokémon.

Slightly coughing from all the smoke, Daisy urgently pulled on the girl's arm and began dragging her out of the Pokémon Gym and back into the hallway where there would be more fresh air. She wasn't too concerned with Team Plasma if they ended up following them, Daisy trusted her sisters to keep them busy for a little while, but after that . . . she didn't even want to think about it. Daisy then made a beeline for the back door, and after fiddling with the locks she swung it open, practically throwing it off of its hinges.

"Aunt Daisy?" Molly spoke up in a quiet voice, hugging Eevee close, "why is Team Plasma here?" On their journey to the back door the girl had finally recognized the uniforms that those men had been wearing, and had begun to wonder if she and Eevee were the reason that they were here. The thought that she had brought them here to their home had been guiltily gnawing at her insides.

Daisy shook her head. "I'm sorry, Molly, but I don't have time to explain. Let's just say that your uncle has gotten into some trouble."

"Uncle Lance?" The girl questioned, slightly relieved that she wasn't the reason why Team Plasma was here, and worried for the former Champion at the same time. "Is he okay?"

"I don't know," the blonde then knelt down closer to her niece's height, her face becoming solemn, "but don't worry about him. Right now I need you to get as far away from here as possible."

Molly stepped back as if she had been slapped. "What?"

"It's not safe for you here," Daisy explained gently, "leave Cerulean City as fast as you can and head for Pallet Town. There's a man there who can help you; his name is Professor Oak."

"B-but what about you, and Aunt Lily and Aunt Violet," the girl asked between the tears that were slowly cascading down her cheeks, "what will happen to you?"

"Don't worry about us, we'll be fine." It was a lie and Daisy knew it, but it was the only way to get Molly to leave, so it was necessary.

"But I-I don't even k-know how to get to Pallet Town." Molly stuttered, the tears falling faster.

"I have faith you, Molly," the blonde said truthfully. Bringing her hand to the girl's face, she gently wiped away her niece's tears with her thumb, and softly kissed her forehead. Avoiding Molly's heartbroken expression, Daisy then met Eevee's gaze, and said, "Make sure she gets there safe."

The normal-type nodded in understanding, though his eyes were forlorn. Deep down, he knew as well that there was a good chance that his human friend would probably never see her aunts again after tonight. And it made him sad.

"Now go, and remember that your aunts and I love you."

The next thing Molly and Eevee knew they were being shoved out the back door, and into the rainstorm outside. Tripping over the back porch steps, the girl found herself falling backwards and landing hard on the wet grass, with Eevee flying from her arms. The ten year old quickly pushed herself upright, hoping that somehow she would be fast enough to prevent her aunt from locking her outside, but her shoulders dropped in despair when she saw that backdoor was already closed, and without a doubt locked. Tears once again filled her eyes, and Molly rapidly blinked them away. Crying would not get her anywhere.

Eevee tugged at the bottom of her pants, catching the girl's attention, and yanked it in the direction towards the forest, and beyond that; Mt. Moon. Swallowing thickly to try to calm herself down, Molly shakily stood up and wiped away the wet hair from her face. After taking one final glance at the back of her home, only then did the ten year old turn on her heel and run away, with Eevee leading her towards the forest.

Her bare feet slapped against wet paved streets as she ran through her hometown, and Molly could feel herself shaking from the cold as the rain continued to fall. Already her pajamas were soaked through, along with her hair, and Eevee's fur was drenched as well, but neither of them was going to stop and dry off until they felt that they were safe. As they ran, Molly tried to listen for police cars, or fire trucks, hoping that someone had noticed that the Cerulean Gym was on fire, but she never did.

Molly suddenly came to skidding halt when she heard an earsplitting explosion coming from behind her. Whirling around she was horrified to see an enormous black cloud rising high up into the air, exactly where her home had been. Even from several streets over the girl could see the orange hue of flames against the dark, cloudy sky and she immediately knew what had just happened.

The Cerulean Gym, her home, had just been blown sky high.

"No . . ." Molly whispered, her eyes filling up with tears again. She clamped them shut, and shook her head, not wanting to believe what she was seeing. There was no way, no way that her aunts could be . . . gone, could they?

Suddenly the girl heard a pair of footsteps coming her way. Startled, she turned around to face the newcomer, expecting it to be one Team Plasma's lackeys, but was stunned to find a familiar pair of golden eyes staring right back at her instead.

"Molly?" Aiden said out of surprise, having not expected to see the girl here, especially in this weather.

"Aiden," never in her entire life had Molly ever been so glad to see to someone, "what are you doing here?"

"I could ask you the same thing." The boy coolly replied, walking up to his classmate. It was then he noticed that the girl's eyes were red. "Hey, are you crying?"

"No!" Molly snapped, while turning her head away from Aiden's prying eyes. "What gave you that silly idea?"

"Molly, what's wrong?" Aiden asked firmly, is tone leaving no room for lies. "Why are you and Eevee really out here in the middle of the night?"

It was as if all of the night's previous events had suddenly overwhelmed her, rushing back all at once, for the next thing Molly knew she was clinging to Aiden's shirt, crying her eyes out. She didn't care that they were soaking wet. She didn't care that it was the middle of the night, and that in a perfect world both of them would be sleeping peacefully right about now. All Molly cared about was having someone, _anyone_, to tell her that everything was going to be okay, that it wasn't the end of the world. What she really wanted though, was her family.

Aiden stiffened when Molly unexpectedly latched on to him, not really used to any kind of contact, but immediately became concerned when he realized that the girl was sobbing into his shirt. Awkwardly he raised one hand to pat her comfortingly on the back, feeling that he had to do _something_ besides just standing there still like a statue. This had not been the reaction he had been expecting from the hotheaded girl. What he had had in mind was something akin to a shouting match. Completely baffled by Molly's behavior, Aiden glanced down at Eevee, silently asking what had happened.

The normal-type just hung his head and shook it slowly, with both his tail and ears drooping.

Aiden uneasily cleared his throat. "Uh, why don't we go somewhere dry and get out of this rain? Then you can tell me what happened."

Molly gave a small nod in response, and allowed Aiden to gently guide her farther and farther away from her burning home. She paid no attention to where the boy was leading her to, her mind was too occupied at the moment, but as long as it was away from here she didn't care.

"Hey, you two with the Pokémon, stop!"

Both Aiden and Molly jumped at the unfamiliar voice, and did a complete 180 to face whoever had called out to them. The two children knew that it must look a little suspicious for them to be walking in the rain in the middle of the night, still dressed in their pajamas, with an Eevee trailing at their heels, but hopefully they would be able to think of something to get out of the situation. Their eyes widened though when they saw that instead of one person, there was actually two running towards them, and that both of them wearing Team Plasma's uniform.

"It's Team Plasma! Run!" Aiden yelled, while grabbing Molly's wrist and taking off at sprint down the street.

The two kids, and Eevee, ran as fast as they could through the city's streets, desperately trying to lose their followers. They slipped in between houses, and turned at almost every corner in attempt to somehow throw them off, but no matter what they did the grunts continued stay on their tail. Aiden then made a sharp turn to the right, and Molly soon found herself on Cerulean City's Golden Bridge, and below them the girl could hear the roar of the rushing river, which was now flooded from all the rain.

"Houndoom, use Hyper Beam on the bridge!"

The sound of an explosion bellowed into Molly's ears, and her feet suddenly had no ground to run on as the bridge began to crumble underneath her and her friends. The girl frantically tried to grab ahold of some solid structure, but her hands only grasped thin air as she fell backwards towards the dark water below. The last thing she heard before she became completely submerged into the river was the terrified screams of Aiden and herself.

Molly struggled to hold her breath as she clawed and kicked her way up to the surface. The water was cold and the current was fast and it kept slamming into her, but the girl was determined. She would not give up, and so when she felt her feet touch the bottom floor of the river, she pushed upwards with all her might, and finally broke through to the surface. As she drank in the fresh air, Molly valiantly fought to keep her head above the water and search for her friends at the same time. Waves crashed into her, hindering her vision, and the thunderous noise from the river and the storm made it difficult to hear anything.

"Aiden, Eevee!" Molly cried out anxiously, only to cough up lung full of water the next second when another wave crashed into her, "where are you!"

"Molly, we're over here!"

Turning her head, the girl was able to spot Aiden's mop of brown hair just barely peeking over the surface a few yards in front of her. The boy was hanging on to part of a tree that had fallen into the river with one arm, and in the other he was holding a very drenched Eevee. Molly sighed in relief, happy that both of them were okay and unharmed, and swam over towards them. Reaching out her hand she managed to grab onto one of the tree's remaining limbs, and was able to maneuver herself next to Aiden.

"Are you guys alright?" The girl asked, taking in their soaked appearances.

"I've been better," Aiden replied, annoyed by their situation, "what about you?"

"I'm fine."

"Then let's get out of this river."

They managed to drag themselves back to shore by using the tree as a sort of an anchor, and then promptly collapsed on top of the wet grass. To put it simply, they were exhausted. All that running around the city, falling into a river, and the fact that it was way past their bedtime had drained them emotionally, and physically. But unfortunately they wouldn't be able to relax for long, because Eevee suddenly jumped back to his feet, and began to growl as he moved to stand in front of the two kids protectively.

"What's wrong Eevee?" Molly asked, wondering what had set him off. Warily she sat back up, and scanned her surroundings. There were alone from what she could tell, but the girl had quickly learned not to doubt the normal-type's senses.

"Do you hear that?" Aiden spoke up suddenly, frowning.

"Hear what?"

"It sounds like . . . footsteps." The boy's eyes widened in realization, and he leapt to his feet, dragging Molly up with him. "I think it's those two grunts from earlier. They're still following us!"

"Then what are we waiting for? Let's get out of here!" Before Molly could take off and run though, Aiden grabbed her wrist, bringing her to a halt. The girl gave him an incredulous look. "What are you doing? We have to go now!"

"Not that way! Let's hide in there!" Aiden pointed further up the shore, and Molly's gaze followed to where he was indicating to. Not too far away from where they were standing was a cave. The inside of it was pitch black, almost ominous in a way, and the rocks at the mouth of the cave were so jagged that it looked like it actually had sharp, piercing teeth, just waiting to chomp down on whoever was dumb enough to enter.

Molly recognized the cave instantly, and a shiver went down her spine.

"Aiden, are you crazy!" The girl practically screeched. "I know you're new here but that's . . . that's the _Cerulean Cave_!"

"So? What's the problem?"

"Anyone who's ever gone into that cave has never _ever_ come back out!"

Aiden sighed, rolling his eyes. "Look we don't have time for this! It's either Team Plasma or the cave! Now come _on_!"

Molly had to admit that the boy had a point, but there just wasn't something _right_ about that cave. She tried to struggle out of Aiden's grip but he wasn't letting go any time soon, so with an anxious heart, they entered the cave, with Eevee bringing up the rear.

* * *

Mew was beginning to feel slightly frustrated. All she had wanted to do was swing by and say hello, and maybe have a conversation for once, but she couldn't do that if the person she visiting was deliberately _avoiding her_! Honestly, for someone who didn't like to play games Mewtwo was very good at 'hide and seek'. Her wide blue eyes glanced over her clone's home, trying to find some sign of the stubborn psychic, but he was nowhere to be found.

She sighed. _"You know I'm not leaving until I speak with you so you might as well come out now!" _Silence was her response. _"Alright then, I guess I'll have to just to beat you in another fight . . . again."_

A deep, long sigh echoed off of the cave walls. _"What do you want this time, Mew?"_

The small, pink legendary turned around, and was greeted with Mewtwo's usual scowl. She huffed, but couldn't stop the playful grin that appeared on her face. _"Is that anyway to greet your big sister, little brother?"_

Mewtwo rolled his eyes, and muttered, _"I told you to stop calling me that."_

_"I know, but where's the fun in that?"_

_"You said that you wanted to speak with me?_" The other legendary growled out irritably.

_"Now, now, don't be like that. If you keep scowling the way you do your face will end up getting stuck that way."_ Mew chided, giggling at her clone's expression. _"So guess what happened the other day!"_

_"What?"_ Mewtwo dared to ask.

_"I met this human girl who was trying to save this Eevee from a bunch of Spearow! She was really nice and had a good heart, I could tell. In fact, she reminded me of our favorite human. She even looked like him!" _Mew excitingly told her fellow legendary.

Mewtwo raised a brow, becoming slightly interested. _"Are you saying that she looked like Ash?" _

_"Yep, just like him!"_

The clone Pokémon hummed in thought, wondering if Mew was just over exaggerating like normal, but he was rudely interrupted when he felt three new presences entering his cave. From what he could gather through his superior psychic powers, the newcomers were scared, and that they were young.

_"I believe we have company, Mew." _Mewtwo informed the other legendary.

_"Oh? Who are they?"_ Mew questioned, tilting her head.

_"Children, I think. They're at the entrance of the cave."_

_"You're not going to scare them off are you?" _

_"I'm not sure yet." _Mewtwo eyes then narrowed when he felt three more new presences enter the cave. The only difference was that these three were more sinister, and dangerous. Now it all made sense. The children were hiding from someone. "_Mew, come with me, and stay out of sight."_

Mew didn't question her grumpy companion, but merely nodded and followed him back to the cave entrance through teleportation. Both of them stayed out of sight from the humans and their Pokémon, not that it would really matter, since the humans couldn't see anything due to the darkness of the cave anyway. From what she could tell, there were two children and an Eevee hiding behind a large assortment of rocks, and through her psychic abilities she feel the waves of fear coming off of them. What surprised Mew the most though, was that she recognized the girl as the same one she had met in the forest almost two days ago. What was she doing here?

Removing her gaze from the younglings, Mew then observed the other humans and the Houndoom that they had with them. Obviously they were searching for something, most likely the kids, and their Houndoom was sniffing at the ground, trying to pick up a scent, but due to the dampness of the cave it was proving to be very difficult. Mew then noticed the strange clothing of the two older humans, and immediately frowned in disapproval. They were wearing Team Plasma's uniform, but what did Team Plasma want with two kids?

_"Mew,"_ Mewtwo spoke up, deciding that he had seen enough, _"would you like to have some fun?"_

Mew eyed her counterpart very curiously. Just what was he up to now? _"Sure, what do you have in mind?"_

The other legendary smirked, and his eyes began to glow an eerie blue. _"You can transform into any form you want, correct?"_

_"Yes, but what does that have to do with anything?"_

_"What's the scariest looking Pokémon you can think of?" _

Suddenly it clicked, and Mew to restrain herself from not bursting out into a fit of giggles. _"Oooh I get it now. I had no idea that you were so devious, Mewtwo. Do you want to do it on the count of three?"_

"_Gladly,"_ Mewtwo replied.

With that said Mew began to transform.

* * *

Molly could feel herself shaking uncontrollably, whether it was from being soaked to the bone or being absolutely terrified she couldn't tell. For a brief moment she wished that she could be like Aiden. The boy was being perfectly calm, and he didn't even look the least bit scared. His eyes were focused, and his face showed nothing but determination, no doubt he was trying to come up with an escape plan if they ended up getting spotted.

Eevee suddenly stiffened in Molly's arms, and for one horrible moment she thought that they had been found out, but nothing happened and she could still hear their pursuers moving around on the other side of their hiding spot. The girl silently sighed in relief, and glanced down at the small Pokémon in her arms, but was puzzled by what she saw. The normal-type's ears were low, his tail was wrapped securely around himself, and his eyes were fixated on some spot by the cave's wall. Molly was confused. Eevee didn't seem scared, but he was wary none of the less. She followed the little guy's gaze, but there was nothing but thin air.

Aiden tapped Molly's shoulder, and the girl turned to face him, wondering what he wanted. The boy wordlessly pointed at a gap in the rocks they were hiding behind, and motioned for her to look through it. Curious, Molly quietly moved over towards the small opening, and peeked into it.

Houndoom had stopped in its search, and was standing completely still. The weirdest thing though, was that it was staring at the exact same spot that Eevee had been staring at.

"Houndoom quit standing there and keep looking for those brats!" One of the grunts yelled at the Pokémon.

Before the dark and fire-type could bark back a response, a chilling wind suddenly rushed through the cave, followed by a deep, dark growl coming from the interior of the cavern. The Houndoom and the two grunts took a startled step back, and the growling instantly became louder. Soon all the occupants of the cave could hear the loud booming noise of footsteps approaching, which meant that whatever was coming towards them was big.

"Who's there?" The grunt from earlier yelled. "As members of Team Plasma we demand that you show yourself!"

_Idiots! _Molly thought.

A pair of glowing red eyes blinked into existence from the darkest part of the cave, which was soon followed by a large, draconic form as the unknown Pokémon stepped into light. The creature stood tall on its hind legs, and it had razor sharp looking fins on its body, one of them being the dorsal fin on its back. A long sweeping tail swung slowly behind it as it studied the cave's occupants, and its red eyes narrowed dangerously when it noticed the two Team Plasma grunts.

"T-that's a Garchomp!" Aiden exclaimed in hushed whisper next to Molly, recognizing the dragon. "What's it doing here?"

Molly could only shrug in response; however, what neither of the children noticed though, was the sudden presence that had mysteriously appeared behind them. And they never would, for the next thing they knew the children and Eevee felt a psychic pressure in the mind, and the next second later all three of them were unconscious.

* * *

Mewtwo gently lowered the children back to the ground as they fell unconscious. Normally he didn't like entering another being's mind, but this was the only way to make sure that they wouldn't interfere. Once he was certain that they wouldn't be waking up anytime soon, Mewtwo then returned his attention back Mew, who was still in her disguise, and telepathically asked her if she would like any assistance. She declined his offer, but he didn't mind. With his job done, the clone was content enough to sit back and enjoy the show.

* * *

Mew, in her Garchomp transformation, growled again at the pair of evil doers that stood before her. Snarling, she curled up her lip and showed off her now large and sharp teeth, while taking a threatening stood forward as she did so. Houndoom instantly bolted after that intimidating gesture, and ran out of the cave as fast as he could, with his tail between his legs. Unfortunately his companions weren't smart. Mew mentally rolled her eyes. It seemed that she would have to get physical after all. She let out a shrieking roar, one that clearly said 'I'm mad so you better run for your life if you know what's good for you'! The two team Plasma grunts paled considerably, and screamed in terror, like the bunch of little girls they were, and took off for the exit.

Mew wouldn't let them go that easily. She chased after them, roaring as she did so, and shot a Flamethrower at them, forcing them to turn away from the cave's opening. Perfect, now she had them in a corner. Whirling around, Mew swung her tail hard into the two humans and sent them crashing into the wall, knocking them out.

"_Don't you think that was a little rough? I asked you to keep them distracted, not knock them out._" Mewtwo stated, floating up next his fellow legendary.

"_Does it really matter? They're not hurt. Besides, they kind of deserve it. " _Mew explained simply, transforming back into her original self. She then giggled. _"And did you see the look on their faces! It was priceless!"_

Mewtwo sighed, shaking his head at Mew's words.

"_So what now,"_ Mew asked her clone, _"we can't just leave them here?"_

"_I'll erase their memories, like I did the children's. That way they won't have a reason to come back here."_

Mew watched as her friend's eyes glowed as he entered the two grunts' minds, and then dimmed a second later. It always fascinated her, the way Mewtwo could do such amazing things that she could not, but then again she could do things that he couldn't do.

"_It is done." Mewtwo announced. The clone then pointed at the two older humans. "I'll drop these two off on the other side of the city." _

"_What would you like me to do, brother?" _Mew questioned.

"_Take the children back to the riverbank. When I looked through their memories I found out that they had fallen into the river from the bridge. It would be strange to them if they suddenly woke up somewhere else." _

"_Anything else?"_

Mewtwo shook his head. _"No. I'll be back in a moment."_ And with a flash, both the psychic and the two Team Plasma members were gone.

* * *

**Review Please!**

**So I would've updated sooner but unfortunately its that time of year again when summer school activities get really busy and I didn't have a whole lot of time to write. And when school starts it will only get worse :(**

**The next chapter will definitely have more info on the 'traitor', since this one didn't when I said that it would, but I hope Mewtwo's appearance made up for it. **


	6. Chapter 6

Pokemon: New Beginning

Chapter 6 – Destination: Pallet Town

_Unknown Location_

Tracey's brain was going a mile a minute as he tried to digest the events that had just recently taken place. How had it come to this? As he paced across the now vacant room all he could think about was the absolute fear in Lance's voice when the man had yelled at him. It continued to echo in his mind, over and over again.

"_Dammit, Tracey, that's my _family_! Have you even told _Ash?"

The man's pacing faltered, and he grimaced. For some reason he felt as if this whole situation was his fault, and the overwhelming sense of guilt washed over him, almost making him want to drop to his knees. While Tracey wasn't much of a fighter, for once in his life he wished that he was, so that he could be out there right now, trying to save his friends. Instinctively his hand reached for the poke-ball strapped to his belt, wishing for some kind of companionship, but stopped when he heard a heart wrenching sob reverberate across the room.

His thoughts now distracted from his current predicament, Tracey glanced at his surroundings, searching for whoever had made the despondent sound. Ignoring all the high tech equipment in the room, the man was shocked to see a smaller, more feminine figure sitting on one of the couches placed in the room. Had he really been that deep in thought to not have noticed their presence? His shock soon faded into concern when he recognized the woman's lilac colored hair, and the Espeon trying to comfort her as she cried into her hands.

"Annabel?" Tracey softly spoke up as he walked over to the Salon Maiden.

Annabel looked up at the sound of her friend's voice, and as he came to a stop right in front of her she asked between her tears, "W-why did he do it?"

Tracey didn't need to ask who she was referring to. Sighing, he took a seat next to the woman and simply said, "I don't know, but now Team Plasma has another Legendary in their grasps."

Annabel gaze dropped down to her hands resting on her lap. "I just d-don't understand. He was our friend, and Ash trusted him . . ."

Ash . . . Tracey could definitely speak for everyone here that the man was beyond livid, almost to the point of murderous. He had been hit right where it counts, but despite all that anger, Tracey knew that deep down Ash was also hurting, _grieving_, for the friend that had betrayed him. When he had been told that Team Plasma was going after Lance and the remainder of his family in Cerulean City, the first thing the older man had saw in the trainer's eyes was hurt, but then the rage and fear of an overprotective father had taken over and Ash had stormed out of their base, releasing Charizard as he did so. Tracey knew that with the storm and being so far away from Kanto that his friend would never make it in time, but he had remained silent, mostly for Misty's sake.

Misty . . . Tracey didn't even want to remember the absolute horror that had appeared on her face.

"W-why would Noland d-do it?" Annabel questioned again, holding her head in her hands.

Tracey knew that both of the Frontier Brains had been close, like brother and sister, and that it must've been killing Annabel inside to hear what the man had done. Noland had always been supportive of the rebellion, so for him to just betray them out of the blue had been quite a shock. Though, the man had been acting strange after he went on that assignment in Unova. Tracey sighed, he didn't understand it at all either.

How had it come to this?

* * *

The rain was still falling at a constant pace when Mew brought her slumbering companions out of the Cerulean Cave. She made a face at the undesirable conditions, not liking the idea of getting wet, but she didn't want to disobey Mewtwo either. Reluctantly Mew teleported the children and herself down by the riverbank, and grumbled when her fur became instantly soaked from the heavy rain.

"_Mewtwo better get his tail back here fast, because I do not want to be stuck out in this weather all night._" The tiny legendary muttered.

Of course Mew knew that she could've just gone back within the shelter of the cave, but she didn't exactly feel comfortable leaving children out here all alone, unconscious, and unprotected. Humans were such fragile creatures after all and could easily get hurt, and with Team Plasma prowling about it seemed even more unwise to leave the young ones by themselves. Besides, over the past several years Mew had developed a soft spot for human children ever since she had met Ash, and she felt that it was her responsibility to watch over them until Mewtwo returned.

Though the same couldn't be said for her other brethren. Most of the other legendary Pokémon wouldn't have spared the younglings a second glance, especially the humans. Once Ghetsis had made it known that he was hunting and capturing Pokémon down the legendries' view on humans had rapidly declined. Now days they just remained hidden from the world, not wanting to have anything to do with 'petty human affairs'.

Mew sighed and discarded all thoughts on the gloomy subject, not wanting to be bothered by their heavy presence, and instead focused her attention back to the human girl that she had encountered not too long ago. Curiously the legendary flew up closer to the girl's small form, her tail swinging excitedly, and was once again amazed by the uncanny resemblance between her and Ash. It was then that Mew noticed the faint, yet noticeable, hints of red around the girl's eyes, and immediately became concerned. The girl had been crying recently, but why? Mew's ears dropped as a sudden sadness came over her. Whenever she saw someone crying, whether human or Pokémon, Mew couldn't help but feel as if her own heart was breaking, that she was useless, unable to help. That was why she was always trying to get her fellow legendries to play with her, so that she could make them laugh, and never see them cry.

"_You were right. The girl does look like Ash_."

Mew jumped at the sound of her clone's voice, surprised that he had managed to sneak up on her without her noticing it, and whirled around to face him. "_When did you-_"

"_-Just now,_" Mewtwo smoothly interrupted, while moving to stand right next to his friend. His eyes then drifted back down to the still sleeping children or, more specifically, the young girl and the Eevee resting in her arms. "_You know she looks a little too much like Ash for it to be a mere coincidence_."

"_What do you mean, brother_?"

The clone didn't respond right away, but Mew could tell that he was in very deep thought by the look in his eyes. She knew better than anyone not to interrupt Mewtwo when he thinking about something, so she waited patiently for his reply.

"_Mew can you do me a favor_?" Mewtwo suddenly spoke up, changing the subject.

The pink legendary tilted her head in confusion, briefly wondering just what was going on in the male's head, and slowly said, "_Um, sure_."

"_I need you to keep an eye on these children for me for a little while_."

"_What_!" Mew exclaimed, completely taken aback by the clone's words, "_why_!"

"_Because I have a feeling that Team Plasma isn't done with them yet, and that they may be in danger_." Mewtwo calmly explained.

Mew suddenly paused at her clone's response, and her eyes regarded him suspiciously. Even though Mewtwo's tolerance for humans had grown somewhat over the years he still wasn't one to instantly become attached to one either, so what had caused him to become so _protective_ all of a sudden? "_You're hiding something," _she announced_, "something that I don't know about and you do._"

"_That's ridiculous_," Mewtwo retorted, refusing to meet Mew's gaze.

The female rolled her eyes. "_You're a terrible liar, Mewtwo_."

He sighed. "_Just trust me on this, Mew. I know what I am doing_."

Before Mew could respond she was abruptly overwhelmed by a powerful, yet gentle, psychic presence in her mind, one that she knew very well. In front of her Mewtwo's tall form slowly faded away, along with the rumbling echoes of the rainstorm and the scenery that had previously surrounded her, and was soon replaced by the familiar sight of the Hall of Origin. Mew's vision only lasted a second though, and as the Hall of Origin began to fade back into the outskirts of Cerulean City a deep, strong, wise voice reverberated within her mind, calling to her.

"_Come my children, we must speak of important matters at once_."

Then it was gone.

"_Mew, are you all right_?"

Mew's eyes blinked opened at the sound of her brother's voice, having not realized that they had closed during her vision, and quickly realized that she was back by the riverbank next to the Cerulean Cave. "_Yes I'm fine_," Mew reassured the clone, noticing that he was giving her strange look, "_but I'm afraid that I won't be able to watch over the children for you right now, Mewtwo_."

Mewtwo raised a brow, and his tail fidgeted from side to side, "_Why not_?"

"_Because Arceus has summoned us_," Mew said with a sigh, knowing that her friend would not like her answer.

She was right.

A scowl instantly formed on the clone's face, his disapproval painfully obvious, and he folded his arms across his chest. "_I see_."

"_Please, Mewtwo_," Mew began, trying to console him, "_if you would just come with me-_"

"-_No_," Mewtwo cut her off, his tone of voice leaving no room for debate.

"_But the others have wanted to meet for years now, especially Arceus. Why won't you go_?"

"_Please_," the clone sneered, "_during my travels I've heard plenty on what the legendries think of me, and none of it is flattering to say the least. Besides, Arceus didn't create me, so unlike you I have no obligation to come and go at that old fossil's every whim whenever he sees fit._"

Mew frowned in disapproval at her friend's biting words. "_Now see here, that attitude of yours, and your painfully obvious disrespect for Arceus is what makes them think so little of you. You're giving them the wrong impression!_"

"_As if it matters, I'm not going and that's my final decision_."

The small, pink legendary sighed tiredly in defeat, "_Why a you so stubborn_?"

"_I suggest you look at your own reflection before you ask such an inane question_." Mewtwo replied, sarcasm dripping in his voice.

And everyone thought he had no sense of humor.

Mew could feel her blood rising up to her cheeks at his statement. Her fellow legendries had always told her that she had a hard head, but she wasn't that stubborn, was she? Mew opened her mouth to bark back a clever and witty response but closed it when no creative inspirations came to her. A satisfied smirk grew on Mewtwo's face when he saw her struggle, and the pink legendary had to use every ounce of willpower that she had to prevent herself from blasting the infuriating clone to the moon.

"_Whatever,_" she muttered. The little psychic then returned back to their previous conversation. "_Well, since you won't be joining me to Arceus' summoning, I suppose you'll have to watch over the children till I get back_."

"_Me_?" Mewtwo said incredulously, sending Mew a bewildered look, which was quite rare for the usually stoic Pokémon.

"_What's the matter, can't handle a couple of kids_?" Mew teased, knowing that her brother had very little experience with children.

"_No, it's fine I can do it_." He replied defensively.

"_Good, then I'll see you later. Have fun_!" And before Mewtwo could even blink the pink legendary had already teleported away, disappearing into thin air.

* * *

Blackness surrounded her. Everywhere she turned all Molly could see was nothing but the pitch black nothingness that seemed to want to engulf her and swallow her whole. No light, from what she could tell, could penetrate the overwhelming darkness. It was as if the world had been sucked into a black hole, a never ending void of emptiness. For a moment Molly wondered why she was even in this spooky place, but when she tried to remember how she got here she drew a blank. Warily the girl took a hesitant step forward, blindly looking for something that was alive in this strange place. Her eyes scanned her surroundings, but she could not make any shapes out in the darkness.

"H-hello," Molly called out softly, wondering if any of her other senses could help her since she had been rendered practically blind, "is anyone here?"

After waiting a few seconds for some sort of reply Molly quickly discovered that no one was going to be answering to her calls anytime soon. She was completely alone here, wherever 'here' was. A wave of uneasiness rolled over the girl, and Molly wished that she had Eevee with her right about now.

Eevee!

At the thought of her friend memories of the past hour came rushing back to her, playing images in her head like some kind of Movie Theater. She remembered waking up to find that Team Plasma was attacking her home, her aunts fighting back with a Dewgong, the gym catching on fire, Aunt Daisy telling her leave and pushing her and Eevee out the back door, the Cerulean Gym exploding to flames, running into Aiden, being chased all the way the bridge, falling into the river, and then . . . then what? Molly frantically wracked her brain trying to recall what had happened next, but all she could remember was hitting those icy waves and then nothing. The girl growled in frustration. What had happened next? Did she black out? It would make sense considering her current whereabouts, so then the real question would be; how to wake herself up?

Closing her eyes, Molly pictured herself waking up and gave her arm a small pinch. The girl then opened her eyes and was dismayed to see that she was still surrounded by total darkness.

"Come on!" Molly cried out in exasperation. Once again she closed her eyes, willing herself to consciousness, while chanting, "Wake up, wake up!"

As if reading her mind, a bright light suddenly appeared within the black void, and Molly could begin to make out the form of a doorway as it drew closer, calling to her. Seeing that this was her chance the girl sprinted towards the bright light, and entered into the glowing doorway.

* * *

When Molly woke up the first thing she noticed was that she had a splitting headache that threatened to crack her skull in two. Second, was that it was _still_ raining. Sighing, the girl slowly pushed herself up into a sitting position, carefully laying Eevee down beside her as she did so. Once she was sure that the small normal-type was perfectly fine Molly then searched for Aiden, and was relieved to find him lying next to her, unconscious, but unharmed. The girl lightly placed her hand on the boy's shoulder and gently shook it, hoping that it would wake him.

"Aiden," Molly whispered, "Aiden wake up."

The boy's eyes groggily fluttered open, and he blinked in confusion as he took in their surroundings. "Molly? W-where are we?"

"On the riverbank" the girl answered, moving back a little to give him some space.

"The river . . ." Aiden mumbled to himself, while rubbing his forehead as if he was trying to recall something he didn't want to remember. "That's right we fell in, but what about Team Plasma?"

"I don't know," Molly replied, "I haven't seen any trace of them since I woke up, and I'm not sure how long we were out so they could still be trying to find us."

"Then we should get away from here as fast as possible." The boy said while pushing himself to his feet.

"And go where, Aiden?" The girl retorted back, standing up as well. "In case you haven't noticed _Team Plasma_ is after us! And just where are we supposed to go in this weather?"

As if to emphasis her point, a particularly loud roll of thunder echoed overhead, causing the two kids to jump, and Eevee to wake. The little normal-type gazed at his surroundings in confusion, but brightened when he spotted his human friend, and happily moved to stand by her side. His ears fell though, when he noticed the distressed state that the girl was in.

"Molly, calm down," Aiden said gently, "I know a place where we can hide out for now. We'll be fine."

The young girl took a deep breath, and nodded, unable to speak as she felt another wave of tears coming on. She blinked them away furiously; stupid tears. This whole night was beginning to take its toll on her, and her emotions.

"Come on, let's get out of here."

* * *

"You live in the Pokémon Center?"

Aiden nodded, "Yeah, so?"

"Uh, nothing, I just didn't expect it that's all."

After running through the city in the pouring rain, avoiding any signs of Team Plasma as they did so, the children had finally managed to arrive at the place where Aiden was currently residing. Molly had caught glimpses of the Pokémon Center whenever she had been wondering around the city, but she had never actually seen up close. The building was large, and the red roof would've stood out greatly among Cerulean City's gleaming skyscrapers and bluish themed houses if there had been any daylight out. During the middle of the night, however, along with a thunderstorm going on, the Center was completely dark inside, and seemed to be devoid of any sign of life.

"Remember to be quiet," Aiden whispered as they entered the Pokémon Center, "we don't want to wake up Nurse Joy or any of the residents."

Molly nodded, and cringed slightly at the sounds her bare feet made as they slapped against the cold, tiled floor, but remained silent as her friend led her and Eevee down a hallway. The boy then came to a stop in front of one of the many doors placed within the corridor, and pulled out a key from his pocket and opened the door a moment later. Once the three of them had entered into the room, and Aiden had closed the door behind them, Molly then began asking the question that she had wanted to ask for the past few minutes.

"So why the Pokémon Center? Couldn't your parents put you somewhere else?"

"Not really. This is probably the safest place for me here." Aiden answered, but when he saw Molly's confused expression he said, "The Pokémon Centers are allies with the rebellion, so my parents felt that I would be safer here for the time being."

"So does that mean everyone in here is part of the rebellion?" The girl asked, while out of the corner of her eye she saw Eevee jump onto Aiden's bed, getting comfortable to his new surroundings.

"No, the Pokémon Centers are usually used as hotels nowadays, so most of the people here are just travelers passing through." The boy then moved over towards one of his backpacks by the bed, and began rummaging through it. A minute later he pulled out two sets of clothes, and tossed one towards Molly.

"What's this for?" The girl questioned.

Aiden raised a skeptical eyebrow. "Do you _want_ to stay in those wet clothes?"

It was then that Molly remembered that her pajamas were soaked, and the idea of sleeping in wet clothes was not very appealing to her. Feeling a bit sheepish about forgetting something so obvious, the girl hurried inside the small bathroom on the other side of the room to change, closing the door behind her.

A few minutes later Molly came out of the bathroom wearing a pair of Aiden's blue jeans and an old worn out gray T-shirt. They were a little bit baggy on her smaller frame, but overall they would work for now until she could get some new clothes. She then spotted Aiden resting on his bed, while absently petting Eevee's head as he did so, and she was surprised to see that the boy had already changed into dryer clothes while she had been in the bathroom.

Then something occurred to her, and she wondered how she hadn't noticed it before. "Hey, where's Absol?"

"In his poke-ball sleeping," Aiden replied.

"But why didn't you bring him with you? He could've helped us when we were being chased by Team Plasma."

"Because I didn't want Team Plasma to find out that I had a Pokémon if they spotted me. They would've most likely ended up capturing him and taken him away if they did. I didn't want to risk it."

Molly mused over the boy's words for a moment, and then suddenly said, "My aunts had a Dewgong with them when they were fighting Team Plasma; crazy, right? This whole time I had been worried about my aunts discovering Eevee, that I had broken the law," the girl sighed sadly, "now I just feel really stupid."

Aiden's stunned expression morphed into one of thoughtfulness. "Why was Team Plasma at your house to begin with?"

"Aunt Daisy mentioned that it had something to do with my uncle. She said that he had gotten into some trouble." Molly explained. She then gave the boy a pleading look. "Why didn't they tell me that they had a Pokémon?"

The boy sighed, "I don't know." He then turned his head to meet his friend's troubled gaze. "So what are you going to do now? No doubt Team Plasma will be looking for us both."

"I'm not sure," Molly confessed, frowning slightly, "Aunt Daisy said that I should go to Pallet Town as soon as possible."

Aiden instantly perked up. "Pallet Town, you mean the place where Professor Oak lives?"

"Yeah, do you know him?" The girl asked.

The boy shook his head. "Not personally, but before I left Hoenn my parents told me that if I got into trouble then I should go to Pallet Town and find a man named Professor Oak."

"That's exactly what Aunt Daisy told me!" Molly exclaimed, walking closer to her friend. "Aiden, do you know how to get to Pallet Town?"

"Yeah," the boy replied nonchalantly.

"Can you take me there?" Molly inquired eagerly, suddenly feeling hopeful for the first time that night.

Aiden noticed the hopeful, yet determined, spark return into the girl's eyes that had been slightly dull just moments before, and sighed tiredly in defeat. How could he possibly say no? "I suppose I can take you to Pallet Town, it's not like I can really stay here anyway with Team Plasma roaming about. Besides, if my parents say that he's someone that I can trust then he must be part of the rebellion."

"And maybe Professor Oak can help my aunts and uncle," Molly murmured softly, but it was still loud enough for the other occupants of the room to hear.

Her friend nodded, having similar thoughts. "Then it's decided. Tomorrow morning we leave for Pallet Town."

* * *

**Sorry that it took so long to update, I've been very with school related stuff, but for the next couple of months I should be free so expect to see more updates soon! I also feel like I rushed this chapter too . . .**

**And yeah Frontier Brain Noland is the traitor, and now Articuno is gone, but is that really the truth? What do you guys think? **

**Mew and Mewtwo made another appearance, and before anybody asks, yes the legendries will be playing big roles in this story so expect to see more of them!**

**Review Please! **


	7. Chapter 7

Pokemon: New Beginning

Chapter 7 – Destination: Pallet Town Part 2

The sun had just barely begun to rise over the treetops of Cerulean City, and for most of the city's occupants they were all still asleep, except for one. Inside the Pokémon Center, Aiden was preparing for their long trip to Pallet Town. He had woken up early, and packed two backpacks, one for him and for Molly, with an extra pair of clothes, a flashlight, a sleeping bag, and some food. Beside him he could feel Absol giving him some strange looks with all the stuff he had packed, probably thinking that the humans didn't need all that luggage, but the boy just rolled his eyes at his old friend. He'd admit that it was a little too much, but Aiden wanted to be prepared in case they ended up running into Team Plasma again.

Once he was sure that he had everything, Aiden then walked over to where Molly was currently sleeping. The girl was curled up on the couch, underneath several blankets, and Eevee, her ever faithful companion, was watching over the girl as she slept. As Aiden approached the two, Eevee removed his gaze from Molly and glanced up at the boy, with a curious look in his eyes. Aiden smiled slightly at the little normal-type as he knelt down beside the couch, and patted the Pokémon's head. The boy then glanced over once again at the slumbering girl.

"Guess I better wake her up," Aiden said to no one in particular. Gently he grabbed Molly's shoulder and lightly shook it. "Molly, wake up, it's time to go."

"Five more minutes Aunt Daisy . . ." Molly mumbled in her sleep.

The boy sighed in frustration. "Molly, come on wake up. We've got to leave now."

Groggily the girl opened her eyes, and was surprised to see both Aiden and Eevee were staring at her, though Aiden seemed more irritated than pleased, unlike Eevee. Molly blinked up at the two in confusion, but then all of last night's memories came rushing back to her, and she had to fight the sudden urge to let her unshed tears fall.

"I-I thought that it had all been a really bad dream," Molly said softly as she sat up into a sitting position.

Aiden's irritated gaze softened at her words. "No, I'm sorry, but it's like what you said last night; if we find this Professor Oak, then we hopefully find the rebellion, and then they can help your aunts and uncle." The boy then smiled, "right?"

Molly smiled back, and nodded, "right."

Seeing that his friend was once again her normal self, Aiden walked over to where he had left their backpacks, and tossed one over to Molly, while he slipped one on over his shoulders. The boy then grabbed his poke-ball from the night stand and returned Absol inside it, silently promising his Pokémon that he would release him once they were safe inside the forest. Aiden then turned towards Molly, who was zipping up her backpack. Noticing the absence of the girl's Eevee, the boy assumed that Molly had just placed him in her backpack.

"Ready?" He asked once Molly had put on her backpack.

"Ready," the girl confirmed with a nod.

"Then let's get out of here."

Aiden then strolled up to the room's only window, and pushed aside the curtains. From off to the side Molly watched in confusion as his hands reached for the locks at the bottom of the window sill, and then unlocked them. Her confusion only increased when the boy opened the window, and began climbing through it to the outside. When he noticed that she wasn't following him, Aiden poked his head back inside and gave the girl an impatient look.

"Come on, hurry up!"

"Why can't we just go through the front door?" Molly inquired as she climbed through the window. She then frowned when she noticed that it was still raining, but unlike the ferocious thunderstorm from last night, it was only raining at a light drizzle.

"Because, we don't want Nurse Joy to see us," Aiden explained as he closed the window shut.

"Why?"

"Think about it Molly," the boy began, "what do you think she would do if she saw two kids sneaking out this early in the morning?"

The girl immediately caught on to what her friend was saying, and she to admit that he had a point. No doubt the kind woman would prevent them from leaving in fear for their safety, and that was a confrontation that they couldn't afford. They had to get to Pallet Town, no matter what. Her aunts and uncle were depending on her, and she wouldn't let them down.

"So which way is the fastest way to Pallet Town?" Molly asked, changing the subject.

"That way," Aiden answered, pointing his hand westward. Molly's eyes followed the direction he was pointing at, and saw that he was gesturing towards the mountains in the distance, "once we get past that little patch of trees there should be an entrance to a cave called Mt. Moon."

"And you expect us to ravel through it without getting lost?" the girl said dubiously, while crossing her arms and giving the boy a pointed look.

Aiden frowned. "Do you have a _better_ idea?"

Molly didn't answer, but she didn't need to. Both of them already knew what her answer was.

A smirk grew on Aiden's face at his little victory. "That's what I thought."

Molly could feel the blood rushing up to her cheeks at his words, and in order to hide her embarrassment she huffily turned her back on the boy. "Can we just go already!"

"Yes, yes we can go. Follow me and stay close. Team Plasma may still be looking for us."

The two children stuck to the back roads as they maneuvered around the city, trying to stay out of sight as much as possible, and constantly keeping an eye out for any sign for Team Plasma as they did so. While originally Aiden wanted to be the one to lead them out of the city, he had only been living in Cerulean for about three days, so he didn't exactly know his way around very well, and he had to eventually let Molly take the lead, since the girl practically knew Cerulean like the back of her hand. Even with it being partially dark and raining Molly knew exactly where she was going. She easily led them through the still slumbering neighborhoods, and the ever winding streets, but in the back of her mind she couldn't help but think that the city was a little _too_ quiet. Molly's thoughts instantly went back to when she had heard the Cerulean Gym get blown to smithereens. Had anyone even noticed that it was gone? That it had most likely burned to the ground? The girl shook her head, now was not the time to think about it.

As they got closer to the city limits, the two started making their way towards the main road, which would eventually meet up with Rout 4, and then to Mt. Moon. Cautiously they poked their heads around the house they were hiding behind, which also happened to be the last house on the block, and checked their surroundings to see if the coast was clear. There was no one in sight, and just a few yards away was a sign that read 'Route 4', and behind that was the dirt path that traveled into the forest.

"Come on; let's go, before somebody spots us." Molly said urgently, and the next instant she was running towards the trees, leaving Aiden far behind her.

Aiden just rolled his eyes at the girl's antics, deciding not to comment, and quickly followed.

Their shoes splashed through the puddles that covered the ground, soaking their socks in the process, and faint thunder rolled overhead, causing both Molly and Aiden to pick up the pace. It seemed that the rain was going to pick up soon, and they needed to reach the cave before it started pouring again. By the time they reached the cover of the trees both of them were panting slightly, and their hair was completely soaked, again. Thankfully their clothes were still moderately dry, so they wouldn't be too cold when they entered the damp cave of Mt. Moon.

"Well, we made it out of there without getting spotted," Aiden suddenly spoke up in a positive tone, "if we hurry we can make it to Mt. Moon before the storm picks up."

"Yeah . . ." Molly replied forlornly, even though she had smile on her face.

Aiden immediately picked up the girl's despondent tone. "Hey what's wrong? I thought that you would be happy that we made it out."

"I am, believe me, but," Molly's gaze then drifted back towards the way they came, towards Cerulean City, "it's just that I've never left home before, and I just have this feeling that I'll never see it again."

"Look, Molly," Aiden began gently. "I know how you feel. That's how I felt when I left my home in Petalburg City, but we have to go to Pallet Town."

The girl sighed. "I know."

"Come on, let's get out of here."

* * *

The long flight back to the Unova region was a silent one, and the only sound that could be heard was the roar of the plane's engines. It didn't surprise him much, considering the circumstances. While their mission may have been a success, it was also a failure as well in some aspects. He sighed when he thought back to what one of his subordinates had told a few hours ago. Ghetsis would not be pleased. The poor kid, he looked positively terrified at the possibility of facing the wrath of their leader.

"Sir," one of the pilots spoke up, breaking the silence that had settled over them, "we will be arriving in Unova in about twenty minutes."

"Thank you for keeping me informed." The elderly man then noticed the uneasy expression on the pilot's face, "something troubling you, sonny?"

"Well, sir, it's just that," the pilot paused, then took a deep breath, then said, "Do you really think Lord Ghetsis will be angry? We did retrieve the criminals like he asked us to."

"Yes we did," the elderly man agreed, while thoughtfully stroking his beard, "what I'm more concerned about is what our new recruit told us."

"Johnny?" The pilot laughed. "The kid hit his head pretty hard during the scuffle, I doubt he really knows what he's talking about."

"I wouldn't be so sure."

"You aren't actually saying that you believe him, Rood?"

"His story fits, and there's also the fact that the other two claim that they saw a girl with a similar description running away from the Cerulean Gym." Rood, one of the Seven Sages, replied.

The pilot frowns slightly, "Yeah, but they can't even remember why they were chasing the girl in the first place. Let me tell you something, Rood, something's just not right about all this."

Rood reluctantly had to agree with his fellow Team Plasma member. There was something off about this whole situation, and he didn't like it. It made him feel that was some unforeseen force at work here, messing with them; a legendary perhaps? No, that couldn't be it, legendries rarely ever get involved with humans, so what exactly did happen in Cerulean? Well whatever it is, Rood knew that Ghetsis would most likely not take this very well, and that's what worried him.

* * *

Pain in his leg was the first thing that he registered when he began regaining consciousness, and the terrible headache that followed afterwards did little to lighten his mood. Blearily Lance opened his eyes, only to shut them immediately when the brightness of the room he was in became too much for him. After a few seconds passed the former Champion tried to open his eyes once again, and was pleased to see that the light wasn't as bright as before. Once he had adjusted to the light, Lance began studying his surroundings.

He was in some sort of . . . prison cell would best describe it. Both of his wrists were bound in shackles, but he still had enough movement to cross his arms, his legs though were both unbound, which didn't really surprise him. With his injured leg, he wasn't going anywhere anytime soon. Lance also noticed that he was completely alone. There were no guards, or any other 'prisoners', just him. To be honest he didn't know whether to be thankful or insulted. He was glad that he didn't have to listen to Team Plasma, but was also insulted that they didn't believe that they needed someone to keep an eye on him. He was the Champion of both Kanto and Jhoto for crying out loud! If he had his Pokémon team with him right now Team Plasma would be begging for mercy.

_If I had my team then I wouldn't even be here to begin with_, Lance thought forlornly, wincing when his leg throbbed painfully.

The sound of a door opening brought Lance out of his musings, and he turned his head to meet his new guests. Footsteps echoed off the stone walls, drawing closer towards his cell, and the former Champion could begin to make out two figures descending down the stairs. Lance narrowed his eyes. He had a pretty good idea who was coming down here.

"Ah, Mr. Blackthorn, I'm glad to see that you're finally awake," said a familiar voice, and as the two figures stepped into the light, Lance could easily make out the green hair of the man he hated the most. "We were beginning to wonder if you would ever wake up."

Lance glared, "Hello, Ghetsis."

The leader of Team Plasma himself, in the flesh, and also the most despised man on the planet. Ghetsis was a tall, towering man, even taller than Lance's height of six feet and three inches, and was accompanied by one of those girls that seemed to be always following him around. Anthea was her name, if the redhead remembered correctly. Why she was here Lance had no idea, but it probably had something to do with the medical kit she was carrying.

"I guess I should feel honored. The great and mighty Ghetsis, leader of Team Plasma, has decided to grace me with his presence. Lucky me," Lance said sarcastically.

Ghetsis's eyes narrowed dangerously at the former Champion. "Flattery will get you nowhere, Mr. Blackthorn, so I suggest you put it elsewhere."

"Dully noted," Lance muttered. He knew that he probably shouldn't be trying to get his capturer angry, but he just couldn't help himself. Ticking off his enemies was something Lance had never been able to grow out of since childhood.

The leader of Team Plasma didn't comment on Lance's words, but from the way Ghetsis's eye was twitching the former Champion knew that he was annoying the other man. Lance smirked inwardly at this, pleased to see that he was able to make this small accomplishment.

"Anthea," Ghetsis said, turning to the young woman, "would you please check up on our . . . _guest's_ injury."

"Yes, mi' lord." The girl then gave a small bow towards the man, and then the next moment she was opening the door to Lance's cell. Anthea then knelt down next to the former Champion's injured leg, and tucked a pink strand of hair behind her ear before she began to unwrap the bandages around Lance's calf. "Please be still, it will hurt less if you do."

Lance eyed the girl warily, not trusting her for a second, but when he saw nothing wrong with her actions the man then turned his attention back towards Ghetsis. "Why are you really here, Ghetsis? I doubt it's only to check up on my health."

"How very perceptive of you, Mr. Blackthorn," Ghetsis said sarcastically. "I'm here to ask you a few questions."

"What kind of questions?" Lance asked, playing along. He already had a good idea what they were about.

"I believe we both know the answer to that, so I'll cut to the chase," the man's eyes narrowed, "your Dragonite, Mr. Blackthorn, where is it?"

_Good that means Dragonite got away_. Lance could rest easier now.

"What makes you think I know where he is?"

"Don't play dumb with me, Mr. Blackthorn, now where is he?"

Lance glared up at the leader of Team Plasma. "I don't know. Dragonite left the moment I got off of his back. He could be anywhere now."

"I highly doubt that he would just leave his poor, defenseless _master_, dragons are supposed to be very loyal creatures after all." Ghetsis remarked, not believing a word Lance was saying.

"I guess there's always a first for everything then." Lance replied cheekily, discarding the fact that he was treading on thin ice.

"You are trying my patience, Mr. Blackthorn," Ghetsis gritted out through clenched teeth. "I'll give you one last chance; where is your Dragonite?"

Silence was his answer.

"Very well then, be that way. I had a feeling that you wouldn't give us any free information willingly."

This statement made Lance confused. "If you knew I wouldn't tell you anything then why capture me in the first place?"

"Would you rather we left you in the forest to die of blood loss?"

Lance glared at the man, but didn't reply. He hissed in pain though when Anthea accidently touched his bullet wound while wrapping new bandages around his calf.

"I didn't think so." Ghetsis then pressed a button on the mechanical device on his wrist, and a holographic screen suddenly appeared. "But I have other ways to persuade you in order to get the information we need."

The screen suddenly blinked to life, and what Lance saw caused his heart to skip a beat. Lily, Violet, and Daisy were all locked up in a room-not a cell thank Arceus-and looked a little worse for wear. All three of the Sensational Sisters were covered in soot, and had scratches and a couple bruises here and there, but what hurt Lance the most was knowing that he had failed them, failed his wife. Rage suddenly surged through his soul, whether it was at himself or Ghetsis he didn't know for sure, and he clenched his hands into a fist so hard that his knuckles were turning white. Anthea seemed to pick up on his change of demeanor, because she warily took a few hesitant steps back from the furious Dragon Master.

"Ghetsis!" Lance bellowed at the top of his lungs, glaring at the other man with pure hatred, "let them go now!"

Ghetsis, however merely smiled, amused by lance's anger. "Now why would I want to do that? I think they're perfectly fine right where they are now, don't you agree?"

Lance practically growled at the Team Plasma leader, too angry to form words.

"Well, it seems that we've finally reached an understanding, Lance," Ghetsis continued, eyes narrowing, "now unless you don't want anything to happen to your wife, or her sisters, you'll answer my questions. Understood?"

Lance expression remained stoic. The use of his first name proved that the time for formalities was over, that Ghetsis was indeed serious. It also proved how dire the situation was becoming.

"Before we continue with the whereabouts of your Dragonite, however, I have another question to ask of you."

The former Champion tilted his in mild confusion, what was the older man going on about now? "And that would be?" He snapped back.

Ghetsis ignored his obvious temper, and said, "The team that I assigned to bring the Sensational Sisters into custody arrived here back in Unova about two hours ago, and all three of my subordinates told me something very interesting during the debriefing. They all claimed to have seen a little girl at the Cerulean Gym at some point during the fight."

Lance found a hitch in throat as it suddenly became hard to breathe, and he could've sworn that his heart had stopped beating entirely for several seconds. No, no, no, this could not be happening! They couldn't have found Molly, they just couldn't! He had sworn to Ash that he would keep his daughter-his _niece_-safe! If Ghetsis ever got his hands on her he would know exactly who Molly was! And that would be very, very bad!

"Judging by your reaction it would seem that our guess was right," Ghetsis observed, "that little girl must be your daughter, am I right?"

_WHAT!_ Lance screamed mentally, more out of shock than anything, but then he instantly became relieved, somewhat. They didn't know the truth, which meant that Molly managed to get away. In order to keep her identity safe though, Lance would have to play along for now.

Clearing his throat, Lance said, "What makes you say that?"

_Avoid the question; make him think I'm denying it in order to protect Molly, just like any other parent would_.

"Both Lily and Violet Waterflower are unmarried, and the dates with previous suitors do not match up according to the info we gathered from the residents of Cerulean City. You and your wife, Mrs. Daisy Blackthorn, however are a different case. Whether the girl was adopted or blood related doesn't matter, we now know your secret. How I never noticed is beyond me, but that's in the past." Ghetsis then smiled, but there was nothing friendly about it. "Perhaps I should search for the girl myself; it would definitely be an interesting encounter. With her being so young and all it would be easy enough to influence her young mind on the way she sees the world."

"You leave her out of this, Ghetsis, or Arceus so help me I'll tear you apart myself!" Lance yelled at the man, his fists shaking with barely restrained fury.

Ghetsis didn't seem fazed at all by the threat. Instead he smirked. "Ooh, a bit protective are we? I wonder-" the man was suddenly cut off when a beeping noise erupted from the equipment on his wrist. Raising a hand to his ear, Ghetsis tapped the com-link and answered, "Yes?"

Lance watched the man converse quietly with whoever was on the other end, but turned his attention towards Anthea when he saw her start picking up the medical supplies out of the corner of his eye. He glanced down towards his leg, which was now neatly wrapped in fresh bandages. Not bad. The former Champion would've probably been more impressed if he wasn't so worried about his family at the moment.

"It would seem that we have to cut our little chat short, Lance," Ghetsis spoke up, having had ended his previous conversation, "but no matter, we will continue it another time. Anthea, let's go." Ghetsis then stalked back towards the stairs, not even looking back to see if the young woman was following him.

"Yes, mi' lord," Anthea replied softly, but before she left she turned back towards Lance, "make sure to stay off of your leg. It will heal faster if you do." Then the next moment she was following after her leader, leaving as fast as she had come.

Lance snorted once both of the Team Plasma members had disappeared from sight, _good riddance._

* * *

**So Ghetsis makes his first appearance, and I hope that I got his personality right to some degree. From what I gathered from the games he usually has a calm, cool collected type of attitude, so that's what I tried to accomplish here. Anthea is one of those two girls that watched over N in the games in case anyone is wondering who she is. **

**And poor Lance, he's pretty stuck for the moment, isn't he. :(**

**Sorry if the chapter seems a little short, too, I just couldn't figure out what to write. Oh, and another thing, if any of you guys have any ideas about Molly and Aiden's journey to Pallet Town please tell me! I want to make it very interesting and have character development along the way too! I don't want it to be boring! Just remember that they can't catch any Pokemon yet, but they can make friends! :) **

**Review Please!**


	8. Chapter 8

Pokemon: New Beginning

Chapter 8- Destination: Pallet Town Part 3

_RING!_

Gary groaned from underneath the covers of his bed at the sound of the shrill ringing from his phone. Turning on to his side, the man wearily cracked an eye open and glanced over at his alarm clock. He immediately moaned in distress when he saw that it was six in the morning. Muttering curses under his breath Gary pitched the bridge of his nose, wondering who could possibly be calling him at this hour, and blindly reached for his phone on the bedside table. In his groggy state his hand accidently knocked his alarm clock off of the table and the man cursed again before he finally retrieved his poke-gear.

"Whoever this is," Gary muttered irritably into the phone, "there better be a good reason for calling at the crack of dawn."

"_Gary, turn on the six o'clock news now_!"

The young researcher jumped at the volume of the voice emitting from his poke-gear, complete startled, and held the phone away from his ear. Gary then blinked in surprise when he recognized just who was calling him.

"Is that you, Flint?" Gary inquired drowsily, still not fully awake. Rubbing his eyes, the man then asked, "what's the big idea calling me this early?"

"_Just turn on your damn TV_, _Oak_!" The older man then hung up without another word.

Gary removed his phone from his ear, and stared at it in bewilderment. For as long as he had known Flint the researcher had never once heard the older man curse before, and it was a little unsettling to hear him do it now. Something must have really upset the former Gym Leader, and Gary was hesitant to find out what it was. Brock had always told him and Ash that whenever his father became troubled or worried it was always never a good sign.

With a sigh Gary got out of bed and headed towards the living room, where the TV was located. As he descended the stairs, the man could already hear his grandfather shuffling around the kitchen, and the smell of tea filtered through the humble household. Gary had to smile at his grandfather's predictableness. It was basically the same thing every morning; Samuel Oak would wake up early, start the process of making tea, then move on to fixing breakfast, wake up his grandson, and by then the tea would be done and they would begin eating their morning meal. At first Gary had been reluctant to let his grandfather do breakfast every morning, but his stubborn relative had made it quite clear that he could handle it.

_The early bird gets the worm_; Gary remembered his grandfather's words fondly.

Once he entered the living room the researcher grabbed the remote off of the coffee table and turned on the TV. A yawn escaped from his lips as he began flipping through the channels, and he tiredly rubbed at his eyes again. The moment he came to the news channel though, Gary instantly became attentive, and turned up the volume as the reporters began to speak.

"_Good morning citizens of Kanto, this is your six o'clock news, and_ _we're here live at Cerulean City where just a few hours ago the old, historical building, the Cerulean Gym, just burned to the ground_." A blonde woman informed speaking in a professional tone into her microphone, and behind her were the burnt remains of the Cerulean Gym.

The remote promptly fell from Gary's limp hand, hitting the floor with a loud clang, and he stared numbly at the television screen, barely believing what he was seeing. The woman's words continued to echo in his head over and over again in a never ending cycle, and the video footage of the old Gym only confirmed what he was hearing. The Cerulean Gym had _burned to the ground_!

"_So far there are few details about how the old Gym had caught on fire last night during the storm, but firefighters are still investigating. As for the whereabouts of the residents that were living in the Gym, the police have yet to locate them_."

From inside the kitchen Gary could faintly hear his grandfather's footsteps as the older man began walking towards the living room, and heard the professor calling out to him. "Gary, is that you?" A second later Prof. Oak was standing in the doorway, giving his grandson a curious look. "Well this is certainly a surprise. You're up early this morning. I didn't think you'd be up for at least another hour."

When his grandson didn't respond, Prof. Oak studied the younger man more closely, and immediately became concerned when he took in Gary's appearance. His grandson's face was paler than usual, and his posture screamed tense, as if he were unable to move.

"Gary, are you alright?"

"Gramps," Gary finally managed to choke out, and Prof. Oak didn't like the way his grandson's voice wavered, not one bit. "Look."

Prof. Oak followed his grandson's gaze towards the TV, and the moment he recognized what was on the screen his eyes widened as a sudden feeling of dread formed in the pit of his stomach. "Oh dear, this is _not_ good."

'Not good' didn't even begin to describe the situation, and suddenly, for some unexplained reason, Gary was angry. For years he had been furious at Team Plasma for what they had done to his family and friends, but now he was absolutely _livid_ about the fact that if Flint hadn't called him there was probably a very good chance that he would've never known about what had happened. He, Flint, and several others may not be 'apart' of the rebellion, but they deserved to be informed about something like _this_. In fact, Gary should've been one of the first few people that they called, considering he was Ash's _best friend_, but no, he had learned about this through a news report instead, and not from the rebellion.

Muttering under his breath Gary turned on his heel and started marching back up to his room, not even bothering to watch the rest. He needed to know just what exactly happened last night, and there was only one way to find out.

"Gary!" Prof. Oak yelled, removing his gaze from the TV when he saw his grandson leave out of the corner of his eye, "where are you going?"

"To make a phone call!"

* * *

The Hall of Origins was probably one of the most beautiful places Mew had ever visited in her long life. It was a Pokémon paradise to put it simply, and the home to every single Legendary Pokémon in existence. It was a place for peace, and understanding, just like Arceus had intended it to be.

"_You two get your butts over here now before I decide to rip your heads off_!"

"_So that you can kill us? No way, I want to live_!"

Although, Mew thought tiredly, it be would be much more peaceful if some certain legendries would quit arguing for _five seconds_! Dully she watched as Giratina chased her brothers, Dialga and Palkia, around the Hall of Origin, threatening that when she got her claws on them she would tear them apart limb from limb. If the circumstances weren't so serious it would've been a rather hysterical sight watching the three dragons run amok, but at the moment it just down right irritating. How they could be fighting at a time like this Mew did not understand, even _she_ knew when to be serious, and that was saying something.

From beside her Mew could hear Rayquaza let out a long, exasperated sigh at the Creation Trio's antics, and from the way his eye was twitching dangerously she could tell that his patience was wearing thin. While the emerald dragon wasn't one to lose his temper often, whenever he did it was very terrifying, and Mew did not want to be there when it happened. Of course it probably wasn't helping that Groundon was cheering Giratina on, encouraging the dragoness to beat her brothers into a bloody pulp, and that Kyogre was yelling at Rayquaza to get their own brother to shut up since the 'Great King of the Sea' didn't want to bother doing it himself.

It was during these rare moments that Mew was thankful that Arceus created her separately, without any siblings. At least she and Mewtwo got along for the most part.

"All this noise is giving me a headache," Darkrai grumbled from within the shadows of the far corner he was lurking in, causing a few of the other legendries to murmur in agreement with the cranky dark-type. Mew couldn't help but feel sorry for the reclusive legendary. Darkrai was used to the quiet peacefulness of Alamos Town, not all of this fighting and shouting, so of course it was bothering him.

Entei snorted, while glaring at the trio menacingly, "They're acting like a bunch of hatchlings."

Suicune sighed disapprovingly at his brother's choice of words, but didn't argue the fact that they were true; instead he remained silent and continued watching Dialga and Palkia fleeing from their sister with a bored look in his eyes. Celebi, who was resting on top of Suicune's head, looked rather worried as she observed the three dragons' fight.

"Shouldn't we try to stop them? Arceus will be here in any minute." She asked, looking around at her fellow legendries. When no one answered her she glanced up at Mew, silently asking for help.

Mew saw her best friend's plea from where she hovered in the air, but shrugged in response, not knowing exactly what to do. How were you supposed to stop three rampaging, stubborn, hot tempered dragons from killing each other? She sighed, if only Lugia was here, then they wouldn't be having this problem. Usually whenever fights broke out the Guardian of the Sea would be able to quickly put an end to them, due to his experience with the many quarrels with the Bird Trio, but unfortunately he wasn't, and it didn't look like he would be showing up anytime soon.

That meant that the only one left to deal with the catastrophe that was the Creation Trio was Rayquaza, Lugia's partner in peace keeping. But, as Mew glanced at the powerful dragon next to her she couldn't help but feel a bit wary of him. Rayquaza literally looked like he was about to blow a fuse and bite a few heads off, or more precisely, three heads that belonged to some immature legendries. In other words he looked furious, and _really_ scary, and Mew was very hesitant to approach him and ask for help.

"_This will teach you two for messing with me_!"

"_Ah! Run Palkia! She's using Shadow Force-_!"

BOOM!

The three Regis-Regice, Registeel, and Regirock-beeped simultaneously with each other, gesturing with their huge arms towards the Creation Trio and back their group, and then they finally stomped there feet on the ground when they had finished speaking.

Kyogre chuckled, "Yeah, you said it guys."

Mew tilted her head curiously at Kyogre's words, wishing that she could understand what the Regis were saying, but unfortunately only Pokémon native to Hoenn could understand what the three had to say. Even though she couldn't make out their words, she could definitely make out the tone they had been using towards Giratina, Palkia, and Dialga so she could take a pretty good guess at what the Regis had said, and it wasn't very flattering either.

Suddenly a bright, orange ball of light flew into the Hall of Origin grabbing everyone's attention, except for the Creation Trio, and Victini waved happily at them from inside it. "Hi, everybody I made it! Sorry I'm late, so what did I miss?"

Before anyone could respond Giratina let out another enraged roar, and sent another attack straight for her two cowardly brothers. Palkia and Dialga were able to barely dodge their sister's wild Shadow Force in time, but neither of them was aware of the fact that the attack was now heading straight for an unknowing Victini as it passed harmlessly between them.

"Victini watch out!" Cresselia, who had been rather quiet until now, yelled at the smaller legendary.

Surprised, and very confused by Cresselia's outburst, Victini turned around to see what all the fuss was about, and his eyes nearly popped out of their sockets when he saw the ferocious attack coming his way. Frantically he tried to avoid the Shadow Force, but was unable to fully dodge the attack, and was sent soaring right into Mew, knocking both of them to the ground.

Mew felt the wind get knocked out of her as she landed harshly on her back, and was momentarily stunned as she tried to regain the oxygen she had just lost. Slowly she sat up with Victini still in her arms, and she looked down at the younger legendary in concern. The poor little guy was shaking like a leaf, and Mew could faintly see the beginning of tears in Victini's baby blue eyes.

"Aw, are you alright, Victini?" The psychic asked gently, while checking him for any injuries.

"Y-yeah," Victini replied shakily, while fearfully glancing over his shoulder at the still fighting Creation Trio. He then looked up at Mew. "A-are you o-okay?"

Mew smiled sweetly at him, "never better."

Suddenly Suicune and Celebi were standing over the two fallen legendries, concern written all over their faces.

"Are you both alright?" Suicune inquired urgently as he and Celebi helped the two back on their feet.

"We're fine, don't worry." Mew reassured her friends as she flew back up in the air, Victini right beside her.

Celebi glared at the Creation Trio as she crossed her arms. "I can't believe those three! They didn't even notice what had happened! Somebody ought to straighten them out!"

Rayquaza was more than happy to oblige to Celebi's request. Narrowing his golden eyes, he let out a venomous hiss, and growled out, "Wait here," and marched straight towards the rampaging dragons.

"This is not going to end well." Uxie stated from where he, Mesprit, and Azelf were perched on top of one of the giant pillars that decorated the hall of Origin.

_No kidding_, Mew thought sarcastically. She didn't need to be the embodiment of knowledge to know _that_.

Victini's eyes followed Rayquaza's angry form fearfully, and even though the Creation Trio accidently attacked him, he began to feel sorry for the three immature dragons for what was about to come. "Shouldn't we try to stop him? You know how . . . harsh he can get when he's angry."

Darkrai scoffed at the little fire/psychic-type's words. "You kidding, kid? This is the best thing that's happened all morning. No way am I missing this."

Rayquaza was beyond livid. No words could describe the irritation and frustration that was bubbling beneath his scales. That was why, when Giratina began charging after her brothers once again, he wrapped his long, elegant tail around her smaller form and smacked her hard into the ground, effectively bringing her to a halt. Then, not even a split second later, the emerald dragon grabbed both of Palkia and Dialga's heads with his claws and smashed both of their thick skulls against each other, dazing them. Rayquaza then roughly pushed the two brothers to join their sister on the floor, while still keeping a firm hold on all three of them.

True, he may have been a little too hard on them, but at that moment Rayquaza didn't care, and the pure, wonderful silence that followed afterwards was just heavenly.

Unfortunately all good things must come to an end.

Giratina was the first to come out of her stupor, and she glared up at the older legendary. "What was that for, Rayquaza!"

"Silence!" Rayquaza roared back, growling deeply in his throat. "After a whole week of being chased by Team Plasma I had expected to come to a _quiet_, _peaceful_ gathering, but instead I have to end up dealing with you three idiots and your constant bickering! So believe me when I say that you do _not_ want to test my patience at the moment! Now all three of you get your act together and apologize to Victini."

"Why do we have to apologize to Victini?" Palkia asked incredulously from his sprawled out position on the floor. He then felt a deadly chill go down his spine when Rayquaza narrowed his golden eyes at him.

"Because your fighting nearly got him hurt," Rayquaza hissed in response. "Apologize now."

"But-" Dialga was immediately cut off by another menacing growl. He sighed in defeat, "fine."

Rayquaza released the creation Trio from his grasp and watched with satisfaction as the three dragons apologized to little Victini, who of course easily accepted their apology with a big smile on his face. His anger now fading, the emerald dragon was finally able to relax for the first time since he had arrived to the Hall of Origin, but made sure to keep an eye on the Creation Trio in case another dispute came up between them.

Mew smiled as she watched everyone _finally_ getting along, happy that there was once again peace in the Hall of Origin. Now all they had to do was wait for Arceus and the other remaining legendries to arrive. She sighed, in some ways she was glad that Mewtwo decided not to come, that way he wouldn't have to deal with Giratina, Palkia and Dialga's arguing, but it was the small quiet moments like these that she wished he could be a part of.

All of a sudden a flash of light erupted through the Hall, snapping Mew out of her thoughts, and the next moment Arceus was there, with Moltres and Zapdos by his side, which was odd. Where was Articuno? Mew then noticed the troubled looks on all three of the new arrivals faces, and she suddenly had a bad feeling in the pit of her stomach.

Something bad had happened, she just knew it.

* * *

"Well, this is it."

Molly almost didn't hear the words come out of Aiden's mouth due to the loudness of the rain pounding into her eardrums, along with the thunder claps resonating within the dark clouds hovering in the sky. She was however able to see the boy pointing in the direction of the opening to Mt. Moon, which was just peeking over the hill they had been climbing. Wiping away her wet bangs from her eyes, the girl was could make out the green moss that covered the boulders surrounding the cave's entrance, and she felt her spirits lift at thought that they were getting closer to their goal.

Molly sighed in relief at the sight of the cave opening. Finally after an hour of walking through the forest in the rain they had made it to Mt. Moon, which seemed a lot friendlier than the Cerulean Cave that haunted the children of Cerulean City. Eevee and Absol, now free to walk about, sniffed at the mouth of the cave, curious about their surroundings.

"How big do you think it is?" Molly asked her traveling companion.

"Don't know for sure, but I know that it'll take us right to Pewter City, so it has to be at least a couple miles long." Aiden replied as he knelt down and began rummaging through his backpack. He then pulled out two flashlights and tossed one over to Molly. "Here, catch."

The girl caught the flashlight and nodded in thanks. She then followed Aiden into the cave with Eevee and Absol at their heels, leaving the storm outside. Thunder rolled overhead, and lightning flashed, momentarily lighting up the inside of the cave. Inside, there was just enough light to make out the shapes and objects of Mt. Moon. Stalagmites and stalactites covered the ceiling and the ground, and Molly could some water dripping through cracks in the rocky walls. As they journeyed farther in, the girl's flashlight landed on an old worn down post sign. Curious, Molly walked up closer the wooden object and studied it, but could barely make out the words written on it.

The sound of footsteps alerted the girl that Aiden was walking over towards her with their Pokémon following closely. The boy then leaned over her shoulder and held up his flashlight, pointing it at the sign. "Geez, this thing's covered with dust and mold."

"I wonder what it says." Molly remarked as she gathered Eevee in her arms, hugging him close.

"Here hold this for a second." Aiden said, handing over his flashlight to the girl. Molly took the object and watched as the boy wiped away the dust and grim from the old sign. Soon enough they could begin to make out the words written on the old piece of wood.

_Beware! Zubat is a bloodsucker! _

The moment Molly's brain managed to comprehend the dreaded sentence, a sudden flash of lightning danced across the dark sky, illuminating the cave in an eerie light and was instantly followed by the loudest crack of thunder the girl had ever heard. She let out a short, terrified shriek, nearly squeezing the life out of Eevee as she did so, and instinctively inched closer Aiden, completely spooked by the scary-movie-like situation.

"Hey, watch it!" Aiden yelled at the girl when one of her elbows jabbed him painfully in the ribs. He tried to shove her off of him, but the stubborn girl wouldn't budge an inch.

"D-did it say b-b-b-_bloodsucker_!" Molly squeaked out fearfully, her eyes wide.

"Yes, it did." The boy replied in a tone that suggested that he was talking to a two year old. He then eyed his friend's frazzled appearance critically, and then slowly smirked when it suddenly clicked. "You're not _scared_, are you Molly?" He teased.

The girl's head whipped around so fast that Aiden thought she was going to get whiplash, and she glared defiantly at the boy, "No, of course not! That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard!"

"Then let go of my arm." Aiden deadpanned.

Molly blinked. It was then that she realized that during her moment of fright she had unconsciously latched onto her friend's arm, and accidently ended up crushing Eevee between them. The poor little normal-type was desperately flailing around trying to escape the human girl's death grip on him. The girl immediately let go of Aiden's arm and jumped away from him as if she had been shocked.

"Ah, Eevee I'm so sorry are you okay, buddy?" Molly asked the small Pokémon, staring at him with concern. The normal-type nodded, smiling up at his human friend, and the girl instantly knew that she had been forgiven.

"Well, if we are done here, then I suggest we start walking." Aiden suddenly spoke up, grabbing Molly's attention. "The sooner we start moving the sooner we get to Pewter City."

And so began their long trek through Mt. Moon. As they walked Aiden and Molly made sure to stick close together, that way they didn't end up getting separated and eventually lost. Absol, with his superior senses and skills, walked ahead of the two humans and Eevee, keeping an eye out for hostile wild Pokémon and sniffing for fresh air, which would lead them to the quickest exit. While Absol did this, Aiden made sure to mark their progress as they traveled deeper into the cave, that way they wouldn't get lost or go in circles.

Molly had to admire how resourceful Aiden was, and knew that she was very lucky to have a friend like him around. If it had just been her she had a feeling that she would've ended up getting lost in this cave, even if she had Eevee. She shivered at the thought, and immediately recalled the sign back at the entrance of Mt. Moon. Yes, she was very thankful to have Aiden and Absol with her, and not alone in a cave full of bloodsucking Zubats.

After a couple hours of walking in relative silence the two children and their companions came to a crossroads. The narrow, rocky path that they had been traveling down had suddenly widened and branched off into two separate paths. Molly studied each of the trails carefully, hoping that she could find some kind of clue that would help her decide which one she should take, but her shoulders slumped in defeat when no such clues came to her. Glancing out of the corner of her eye, the girl looked over to see if Aiden was having better luck than she was, but judging from the frown on his face it seemed that he wasn't faring any better.

"So," Molly drawled out, giving her friend a curious look, "what now?"

Aiden was silent for a few seconds before he answered, "I'm not sure." He then placed a hand on top of Absol's head. "What about you, boy, smell anything yet?"

The dark-type warily sniffed at the air, trying to catch the scent of fresh air, but sadly shook his head when he was unable to. From within Molly's arms Eevee also tried to catch some kind of scent, but he too came up with nothing and his ears fell in disappointment. The girl gently petted his head, silently telling him it was alright, hoping that it would cheer up the little normal-type.

"Its okay, Absol, you tried your hardest." Aiden told his friend, and after one final pat on the head the boy stood back up, and stared thoughtfully at the two passageways. "I guess we'll just have to pick one, and if it's not the right path we can always come back and try the other one, but who knows how long that will take."

"But which one do we pick?" Molly asked, knowing that time probably wasn't on her aunts side.

The two children fell into a thoughtful silence as they pondered which path they should take. Molly honestly couldn't tell the difference between the two trails, so she mentally did a guessing game that she had learned during kindergarten to help her choose. Placing Eevee down on the ground, she began the rhyme.

_Eeny, meeny, miny, moe catch a Growlithe by its toe. If he hollers, let him go, eeny, meeny, miny, moe_.

"This way!" Both of the children suddenly cried out at the same time, each of them pointing at a different path. Startled by their simultaneous outburst, Aiden and Molly gave each other bewildered looks, but when they noticed that they were pointing in different directions they glared at each other.

"We go right." Aiden said firmly, leaving no room for debate.

"We go left." Molly countered just as strongly.

"Right."

"Left."

"Right!"

"Left!"

"In case you haven't noticed, Molly, the left path is sloping downwards _underground_! We go right!" Aiden tried to rationalize.

"And what makes you so sure that it doesn't go back up later on! For all we know yours could end up taking us downwards too! We go left!" Molly shouted back.

"Why do you have to be so stubborn!" Aiden suddenly cried out frustration, having finally lost his patience.

"_Stubborn_!" Molly shrieked indignantly, raising her hands, unknowingly pointing her flashlight upwards towards the ceiling. "You're one to talk buster!"

Eevee and Absol sighed in exasperation at their young charges from where they sat, watching the two children bickering back and forth with deadpanned expressions. Already they could tell that this was going to be a regular occurrence on their journey. It couldn't be helped though; both of the humans were too stubborn and too different that they were just bound to clash often. It was in their nature.

As Eevee watched the argument between the two kids escalate in volume, a sudden gleam flashed overhead from where Molly's flashlight hit the roof of the cave, and he curiously glanced upwards to figure out what it was. His eyes widened in distress though when he saw the hundreds of Zubats and Golbats hanging from the ceiling, their sharp teeth glinting whenever Molly's flashlight happened to land on them. The normal-type became even distressed when he saw that one of the Golbats seemed to be waking up from the ruckus that Aiden and Molly were creating with their yelling.

Urgently, Eevee grabbed Absol's attention, and when the dark-type gave him a confused look the normal-type jerked his head upwards, gesturing to the large colony of flying/poison-types above their heads. Absol gave the bat like creatures one glance, and then both he and Eevee were at their humans' feet, desperately trying to gain their attention before the Zubats and Golbats woke up.

Molly and Aiden, both annoyed about having their argument interrupted, and still angry at each other, rounded on their Pokémon, and yelled. "WHAT!"

The children's yell echoed off of the cave's walls, and the silence that followed was almost deafening. Ignoring their trainers, Eevee and Absol craned their necks upwards, praying that the Pokémon above them hadn't woken up. Their prayers went unanswered however as one of the Golbats lazily opened its eyes and it immediately took notice of the small group below its resting place. It glared furiously down at them, upset that its sleep had been interrupted, and opened its mouth to let out a screech, alerting its friends that they had unwelcomed guests.

Molly and Aiden heard the screech, and followed their Pokémon's gaze upwards in confusion. When they saw the hundreds of Zubats and Golbats angrily waking up from their slumber Molly instantly paled, and Aiden instantly knew what was about to happen. Forgetting about their argument, the boy grabbed the girl's hand and yelled, "Run!"

The two children took off down the path on the right side, their Pokemon trailing behind them. The Zubats and Golbats took notice of their departure, and angrily flapped their wings as they let go of the rocky ceiling and began chasing after the humans.

Molly, who was having a bad case of déjà vu, let out a terrified scream as the bat like creatures easily caught up with them, and flailed her arms wildly as one of the Zubats managed to land on her shoulder, scaring her out of her mind. Frantically she swatted a hand at the Pokémon with her eyes closed, which thankfully flew away when she hit it on the nose. The girl only had a few seconds to feel relieved before another Zubat suddenly landed on top of her head. Molly screamed once again, her hands now going to her head as she tried to pry it off.

"Get it off! Get it off! _GET IT OFF_!" Molly shrieked at the top of her lungs when the Zubat refused to budge. "It's going to suck my blood!"

Aiden, who had just swatted a Golbat off of his arm, couldn't help but roll his eyes at the girl's words despite the terrifying situation they were in. Quickly he grabbed Molly's slim shoulders, bringing their run to a halt, and shooed the Zubat off of the girl's dark hair. Once the Pokémon had taken off, Aiden didn't waste another second as he dragged Molly behind him as he took off at a sprint, not even paying attention to which way he was going. Beside them Eevee and Absol tried to fend off their attackers, but the two could only do so much against a large group like this.

As they continued to run from the furious Zubats and Golbats, Aiden suddenly spotted a crack in the cavern's walls, and immediately ran over to it. "In there, quick!" He instructed as he shoved Molly inside, with Eevee and Absol entering right behind her. Once his friends were safely inside, Aiden quickly joined them, and they stayed in their hiding spot as the flock of flying/poison-types hurriedly flew past them.

Molly winced when the rocky wall dug uncomfortably into her shoulder, and looked over at Aiden when the sound of flapping wings began to fade. "Are they gone?"

The boy warily poked his head out from their hiding spot, and gave Molly a reassuring nod when he saw no Zubats or Golbats in sight. Silently they crawled out of the crevice, and Molly carefully checked over Eevee to make sure that he hadn't been injured during the mad chase, and Aiden did likewise with Absol. The girl sighed in relief when she saw that the normal-type hadn't been harmed, and she hugged him close when a shiver went down her spine as she thought of their previous attackers.

"If I ever see one of those things again it'll be too soon." She stated timidly.

"You and me both," Aiden agreed, looking very annoyed at the moment.

Molly then glanced anxiously at her surroundings. "Hey, Aiden, do you know where we are?"

The boy paused at his friend's words, beginning to feel the cold hands of panic gripping his heart for the first time since they came to Mt. Moon. He could feel Molly's expectant, yet slightly fearful gaze on him, and he coughed nervously into his hand as he tried to come up with an answer that wouldn't completely freak her out. None came however, and as time continued to slowly drag on he could feel his heartbeat starting to go faster. "Uh . . ."

Molly definitely didn't like the hesitation in her friend's voice, "Aiden?"

"Well . . . not exactly . . ."

The girl could feel her eyes widened fearfully when she realized how dire their situation had become. The nervous waver between Aiden's words explained it all. They were _lost_ in Mt. Moon.

* * *

**This chapter to me seemed really difficult to write, mostly because nothing major happened, but it is also necessary in order to move on with the story. I promise the next chapter will be better, especially with the legendries, but for now just grin and bear it. **

**And I'm still taking suggestions for Molly and Aiden's journey to Pallet Town, (see previous chapter for more info) so if you have any ideas please tell me. **

**Fun fact: The sign at the entrance of Mt. Moon that Molly and Aiden read is actually in the FireRed/LeafGreen games for those of you who don't remember from way back then. For some reason when I was younger I always thought that was funny lol. :)**

**Review Please! I always get more motivated with the more reviews I get, and a quick thank you to those of you who have already! :)**


	9. Chapter 9

Pokemon: New Beginning

Chapter 9 – Destination: Pallet Town Part 4

"What do you mean '_not exactly_'?!"

Mewtwo sighed in exasperation at the young human girl's loud exclamation, and winced in slight sympathy as the boy tried to placate the obviously scared girl. In retrospect, he honestly should have seen this coming. Allowing two human children, with absolutely no traveling experience, to go off on their own without some sort of guidance was going to end up badly no matter what the outcome, and the psychic had a sneaky suspicion that the girl had inherited her father's lack of navigational skills, which should have been another clue that the children were bound to get lost at some point. Arceus knows how many times that Ash had gotten himself and his friends lost while on his journey all those years ago.

Ash. The thought of his only human friend made Mewtwo smile slightly as he watched over the man's daughter from where he hovered in the air, invisible, inside the cave. Yes, he knew exactly who this young girl was. The moment he had laid eyes on her Mewtwo had known. It was so obvious that he was actually surprised that Mew hadn't noticed it yet, being a powerful psychic and all. The girl practically radiated the same spirit an aura that her father had, not to mention that the resemblance was rather uncanny. The psychic then thought back to the events that had taken place the night before, and shook his head in slight amusement. It also seemed that the girl had inherited her father's knack for getting into trouble, if her run in with Team Plasma was anything to go by.

It was also the reason why he was here in the first place. Mewtwo didn't know for certain what Team Plasma wanted with the two children-the two grunts he had captured had only been chasing them due to their orders-but he owed it to Ash to look after his daughter. The man had saved his life more than once, it was the least he could do in return. The psychic had to wonder though, where _was_ Ash? The last time Mewtwo had seen the man was when he had been nineteen, and the world had been a very different place back then. He had heard from Mew, who had heard from Lugia that Ash was with some kind of rebellion, but other than that Mewtwo had no idea of his friend's whereabouts. Surely though, the nineteen year old that Mewtwo had known back then wouldn't just leave his daughter alone without someone to watch over her, which begs the question of what exactly has happened in the past several years?

_I guess Mew was right_. _I have been living in that cave a little too long_. Mewtwo reluctantly admitted, as he recalled one of their conversations from about two years ago.

"This is all your fault, _genius_!"

"My fault? You're the one who woke those Pokémon up with your stupid flashlight in the first place!"

Mewtwo was snapped out of his thoughts at the sound of the children's voices. Returning his attention to the humans and their Pokémon, he let out another sigh when he realized that they were arguing . . . again. His gaze then traveled over to the young Eevee and Absol by the children's side, and even he immediately felt a little bit sorry for them. The two looked absolutely lost about what to do with their trainers. It was a very sad sight to say the least.

The clone crossed his arms. This was getting them nowhere, and Mewtwo wasn't very keen on just sitting back and doing nothing as the children tried to find their way out of the cave. With his luck, they'd probably end up getting even more lost, and Mewtwo planned on getting out of Mt. Moon at some point in his life. What the humans really needed was a guide to lead them through the cave. Unfortunately, the psychic couldn't do it since that would require him to reveal himself to the children, and that was something he did not want to do. Mewtwo then thought about the other Pokémon that lived in Mt. Moon. Surely at least one of them would help?

With his mind made up, Mewtwo closed his eyes and expanded his psychic senses, searching for a Pokémon that could lead the trainers peacefully out of Mt. Moon. Aside from the Zubats and Golbats, there weren't many Pokémon wandering about at this time of day, and Mewtwo wasn't going to ask any of the poison/flying-types for help because that was just a plain bad idea after the rude awakening they had received just minutes before. Eventually the psychic came upon one Pokémon a couple minutes later that seemed like it could a good enough guide, and he quickly teleported towards its location.

When Mewtwo arrived, the Pokémon that he had been looking for gave a startled yelp at his sudden appearance, and instinctively curled up into a tight ball. Sensing its fear, Mewtwo knelt down closer to the ground-type's height, and said gently, "_do not be afraid little one; I'm not going to hurt you. I merely need your help_."

"Shrew?" The Sandshrew inquired as it uncurled itself from its defensive position, gazing warily at the powerful psychic.

"_There are a couple of human children that are lost. Do you think that you could lead them out of this cave_?"

The small Sandshrew slowly nodded its head.

"_Thank you_."

* * *

Molly _hated_ being scared. She hated the feeling of helplessness that surrounded it, and she hated the overwhelming fear that clouded her mind. Most importantly, she hated how it reminded her of the night her aunts had been taken away from her, along with their home, and how she hadn't been able to do anything to help. It reminded her that she had run away, like a _scared_ little child. Molly just hated it, and it frustrated her to no end whenever she felt this way. She wasn't a little kid anymore, she was a big girl, she shouldn't be able to get scared, so whenever she did feel fear the girl vented out her frustrations the only way she knew how.

"This is all your fault, _genius_!" Molly seethed, glaring at the boy next to her.

Aiden jumped at the accusation, completely stupefied by her words, and narrowed his golden eyes when his shock faded into anger. "My fault? You're the one who woke those Pokémon up with your stupid flashlight in the first place!"

"Did not!" The girl yelled back.

"Did too!" Aiden countered.

The two children glared at each other, neither one backing down, and when they both realized that they had officially come to a draw the two huffed simultaneously, irritation written plainly across their young faces, and turned their backs on each other, refusing to meet each other's gaze. A deafening silence soon followed afterwards, the only sounds coming from Eevee and Absol's slight movements, and both ten year olds were very adamant about not breaking their unspoken agreement. Neither one of them was to going to apologize until the other said it first!

Inwardly, Molly knew that she was being childish, and if her aunts had been here they would have for sure given her a long, boring lecture about proper manners and keeping her temper in check. The girl's shoulders slumped and the fire in her eyes dimmed when a sudden thought occurred to her. She wouldn't be having this argument in the first place if her aunts were here, but they weren't, and Molly knew deep in her heart that the Sensational Sisters would be very proud of her if she decided on her own to be the bigger person and apologized first. Besides, she thought a little guiltily, it sort of _was_ her fault that they were arguing to begin with. Molly couldn't help it though. She just got so snappish whenever she got scared.

Molly glanced over her shoulder at Aiden, who still had his back to her, and still seemed rather incensed if the tension in his shoulders was anything to go by. The girl's gaze dropped to the rocky ground near her shoes, feeling her guilt grow slightly. After taking a big breath, she finally managed to say, "I'm sorry."

Aiden jerked in surprise, and turned around to face the girl to make sure he was hearing right. "What?"

"I said I was sorry." Molly replied softly, eyes still downcast. "It's just-I'm so-I mean . . . Ah! I don't know how to explain it!" The girl exclaimed, running her hands through her dark hair in frustration.

Watching the way his friend fumbled over her own words was . . . disheartening to Aiden. He was so used to the hot tempered, stubborn, yet kindhearted Molly, not this timid, uncertain version of her. His golden eyes studied her carefully, wondering what had caused the change, but was coming up with a blank. The boy just didn't get it. Molly had seemed like her usual self all morning, despite what had happened last night, and it wasn't until they had become lost and she had snapped at him for really no reason that Aiden had started noticing something was wrong. So what was it?

"It's just . . ." Molly continued, gaining Aiden's attention, "my aunts. They may not have a whole lot of time until . . ."

_Until what exactly_? The girl asked herself. Molly didn't even want to think about it. She jumped though when she felt something soft brush against her leg. Looking down, Molly was met with Eevee's big, brown eyes, which were staring at her in understanding. The girl smiled shakily at her little companion, and picked him up to give him a hug, silently thanking him.

Suddenly it clicked, and Aiden's eyes softened when he realized what the problem was. Molly was scared. She was scared for her aunts, and getting lost was not helping them, in Molly's mind at least.

"You know," Aiden began, feeling the need to cheer the girl up, "my dad used to tell me that it's okay to be scared sometimes."

Molly glanced over at the boy in mild amazement, "Really?"

"Uh-huh."

"Are . . . are you scared?" The girl asked timidly.

Aiden paused, considering the question. Was he scared? After a moment he concluded that yes he was scared, but probably not for the same reasons as Molly. "Yeah, I guess I am."

Before Molly could respond, the sound of shifting dirt, and muffled footsteps cut her off. Instantly the two children became alert, forgetting their previous conversation, and turned to face the newcomer, with Absol and Eevee moving in to stand in front of their trainers protectively. Aiden caught Molly's eye, and motioned with his hand to be ready to run if their new arrival turned out to be hostile. The girl nodded her head in understanding then fixed her gaze towards where the sounds were coming from, and anxiously waited for whoever it was to appear.

All of a sudden a little, yellow head popped out from within the darkness of the cave, and it looked up at the children with curious brown eyes. Molly in turn raised an eyebrow at the small Pokémon, and watched intriguingly as the creature warily walked over towards them. The unknown Pokémon paused in its steps when it reached Eevee and Absol, and shuffled nervously when Aiden's starter began sniffing it suspiciously. Eevee on the other hand seemed more puzzled about what the creature actually was than what it was doing here, and reached out a dainty paw to poke the little mouse-like Pokémon, completely enthralled. The creature let out a tiny squeak at the unexpected contact, and immediately curled up into a little ball. Molly could practically see the normal-type's eyes brighten up at the small action, and held back a giggle when Eevee tried to start playing with the other Pokémon like he had back in her room the first day she had met him.

"What is that thing?" Aiden whispered, glancing over at Molly.

"Don't know." The girl replied. Molly remembered seeing the Pokémon in her text book at school one day, but she couldn't recall its name. Her eyes widened in astonishment when she realized what Aiden had said. "Wait, you mean _you_ don't know what it is? I thought you were supposed to be a genius!"

"That doesn't mean I have to know everything!" Aiden retorted, his cheeks turning a little red at the girl's words. "We don't have these things back in Hoenn you know!"

"Then how to we figure out what it is?" Molly asked, while crossing her arms.

Aiden didn't reply, instead he began going through his backpack, obviously looking for something.

_Probably looking for another book_, Molly thought wryly. The girl then focused her attention back towards the Pokémon, and smiled warmly when she saw that Eevee had finally gotten the unknown creature to open up and was now talking to it in a friendly manner. Absol also seemed to have let go of his previous suspicions, because he too was conversing with the other Pokémon as well.

"_**Sandshrew, the mouse Pokémon, it digs deep burrows to live in, and when in danger it rolls up its body to withstand attacks**_."

Molly jumped at the sound of the mechanical voice, and glanced around wildly to find its source. Her eyes eventually fell upon Aiden, and he was holding some rectangular device in his hands, which was pointing towards the Pokémon now known as 'Sandshrew'. The girl inched closer to the boy, extremely curious about the strange object, and studied it a bit closer. The device was a dark gray color, and the top was currently flipped open, which revealed a small screen with a Sandshrew on it. There were also multiple buttons on the bottom half.

"What is that thing?" Molly questioned, pointing towards the object in the boy's hands.

"It's called a Pokedex." Aiden replied.

"Oh I've heard about those!" Molly exclaimed, her eyes lighting up. "Didn't trainers use them back in the old days?"

"Yeah, but Team Plasma got rid of most of them years ago." The boy informed as he put the device back in his backpack, since it was no longer needed.

Molly raised an eyebrow. "Then how do you have one?"

At this Aiden smirked slightly. "I said team Plasma got rid of _most_ of them, not all."

"That still doesn't explain how you got one."

"Prof. Birch gave it to me the same day my dad gave me Absol."

"Oh."

All of a sudden Eevee, Absol, and Sandshrew were gathering around the two children's feet, all of them shouting animatedly, desperately trying to tell them something important. Molly didn't know how they had gotten there so fast without her or Aiden noticing them, but she put it aside for the time being and tried to focus on what the Pokémon were trying to tell them. Unfortunately the girl was unable to decipher what the three were trying to say, since all three of the Pokémon were speaking at once, and at a rather fast pace. Completely clueless, she turned her head to give Aiden a look, hoping he would have some idea on what their friends were shouting about. Her hope died though, when she saw the baffled expression on the boy's usually stoic face. It seemed he was just as lost as her.

"Okay, okay, calm down you three," Aiden commanded, his voice soft, yet stern, "we can't understand what you're trying to tell us like this. Try speaking one at a time."

The Pokémon instantly quieted down, and Molly could practically see the gears turning in their heads as they tried to come up with a way to get their message across. After a few moments of conversing softly amongst themselves, Eevee finally stepped forward, his brown eyes full of determination.

"Eev," the normal-type said while pointing one paw towards Sandshrew.

"So whatever you need to tell us has something to do with Sandshrew?" Molly guessed, studying her friend's actions very carefully.

Eevee nodded his head, smiling widely. He then pointed down one of the tunnels in the cavern. "Vee eev!"

"Something about the tunnels and Sandshrew," Aiden mused, his brows knitted in concentration as he tried to solve their little game of charades.

When he saw that the children still didn't understand, Eevee rolled his eyes, ran up to Molly, and began tugging on the hem of the girl's jeans in the direction he had been previously pointing at, nearly throwing her off balance. Beside him, Absol caught on to his plan almost instantly, and he also went up to his trainer and began nudging the boy towards the tunnel as well.

"Eevee!" Molly exclaimed, startled by the unexpected action. "What are you doing?"

"I think they want us to follow them, Molly." Aiden informed the girl, as he allowed Absol to lead the way. The dark-type nodded at the boy's words, and Aiden needed no further prompting from his Pokémon to know that he was correct.

"Do you think that Sandshrew knows the way out of here?" Molly asked as she and Eevee fell in step next to their traveling companions.

"Maybe, maybe not," the boy replied with a shrug, "either way it's better than sitting here doing nothing."

Molly wasn't sure if she exactly agreed with her friend's words or not. She had always been told that when you were lost you should stay put, but considering the fact that no one knew that the two of them were gone the girl didn't think that staying put was an option either. In the end she really didn't know what to do in this particular situation, plus she also didn't want to be alone in Mt. Moon, which was filled with bloodsucking Zubats. The girl shivered at the thought of the bat-like Pokémon. She never wanted to see another one of those things _ever_ again! Thankfully the girl had Eevee, her tiny, but loyal companion. The normal-type would never leave her by herself that was for certain.

The thought of Eevee brought a fond smile to Molly's face, and her eyes drifted downwards to where she had last seen her friend walking by her feet, but the girl stopped short when she saw that he wasn't there. Wondering where the Pokémon had disappeared to, Molly glanced around at her surroundings, and was relieved to see that Eevee was only a few feet behind her. The girl was about to call out to him, but cut herself off when she noticed the odd, yet familiar posture the normal-type was standing in. Eevee's eyes were fixated on nothing in particular; just thin air, but his gaze suggested otherwise. His ears were also pushed back against his head, which made the normal-type appear wary, but not entirely afraid. It was strange. Molly knew she had never seen her friend like this before, but for some reason she was having a very strong sense of déjà vu. Concentrating a little bit harder, the girl recalled something about being in a cave with Aiden, Eevee in her arms, an overwhelming sense of fear, and Team Plasma, but the memory-if it even was one to begin with-faded as fast as it appeared, slipping out of her grasp. Molly shook her head, clearing her thoughts. It probably wasn't important anyway.

"Hey, Eevee," the girl beckoned, gaining the normal-type's attention, "you coming, buddy?"

"Vee," Eevee replied, forgetting about what he had been staring at and running back towards his human friend.

Molly smiled down at the Pokémon, and when Eevee was once again beside her, the two hurried after Aiden, who was now several feet in front of them.

* * *

Mewtwo nodded in satisfaction as he watched Sandshrew lead the humans and their Pokémon down the tunnel. Now he could relax and not worry about the children getting lost in this insufferable cave, and at the pace they were currently walking, Sandshrew should be able to get them to Pewter City by nightfall. The psychic just hoped that the girl wasn't as accidental prone as her father too, or they would be in here for a while.

Either way the clone had to be careful. The girl's Eevee had nearly found him out, just like back in the Cerulean Cave, and that one simple act had almost brought the memories he had suppressed back to the girl's consciousness. Despite how annoying it would be if Ash's daughter did regain her lost memories, Mewtwo couldn't help but feel a little impressed. The normal-type was very intuitive and observant that was for sure. He would definitely be a good Espeon if that is what the small Eevee ended up evolving into.

Once the children were far enough ahead that Mewtwo deemed it safe to follow, the clone began to silently trail after them, and as he hovered there in the air, the psychic started to wonder what was taking Mew so long. Surely she should've been back by now. Mewtwo could not recall one of the legendries' little get-togethers lasting this long ever before, so something big must've happened, or Mew had gotten distracted on her way back . . . again. However, as likely as that sounded, the clone doubted that Mew's short attention span was the reason why the female was running behind. Even though he was a clone, Mewtwo was still a legendary, that much Mew had reassured him, and whether he liked it or not he could tell when something was amiss somewhere in the world. And something definitely didn't feel right.

For starters, the thunderstorm that was slowly spreading across Kanto was making him feel uneasy. The storm was by no means natural. He could sense the signature power of a legendary coming from the clouds, and the fact that the Weather Trio were all the way in Hoenn was somewhat worrisome. Mewtwo had to wonder just who was stupid enough to get those three this furious to the point that their weather was spreading across seas.

_Probably some stupid human, _the clone thought in light amusement. None of the less, he still wanted Mew to return soon. He was growing tired of babysitting, and there was something very important he needed to do and the quicker the better. Something had shifted in the world, for the good or bad he didn't know, but Mewtwo did know that something big was going to happen in the future, and he wanted to be prepared for when it came.

* * *

An immediate silence fell upon the Hall of Origin at Arceus's arrival; mostly out of respect than the sudden, unexpected shock of his appearance, and Mew, along with her other brethren, quietly gathered around their leader. As she moved to stand by Rayquaza, with Victini following close behind her, Mew studied the powerful legendry's features, and frowned in concern when she saw the troubled and despondent expression on his face. Her eyes then moved over towards Moltres and Zapdos, who both seemed equally unsettled about something. Once again she wondered where Articuno was-the psychic had never seen the Bird Trio separated before-and the bad feeling that had appeared in the pit of her stomach at Arceus, Zapdos, and Moltres's arrival grew exponentially when she saw how . . . _tired_ Arceus looked. Mew didn't even know that he could get tired!

"Arceus . . ." Mew spoke up softly, worry filling her voice, but she trailed off when Arceus subtly shook his head. The psychic closed her mouth, and shared an uneasy glance with Rayquaza. It seemed that the emerald dragon was also worried. Suddenly she wished that she had stayed with Mewtwo, because deep down she knew that she wasn't going to like the upcoming conversation.

"Thank you all for coming on such short notice," Arceus began, "and I am pleased to see that most of you have made it here safely, but unfortunately it seems that not all of you were able to make it. No matter, I'm sure they're all fine, for the moment at least."

"What do you mean, Arceus?" Celebi asked from her spot on top of Suicune's head. "And I don't mean to pry, but where is Articuno? She usually goes wherever Moltres and Zapdos go."

At this, the powerful legendary shared a look with the two remaining Pokémon of the legendary Bird Trio, and sighed. "I'm afraid that Articuno has been captured by the humans of Team Plasma."

Cries of outrage erupted from the gathered legendries, and Mew cringed when she heard some _very_ detailed forms of punishments that should be carried out on the terrible humans. She didn't blame them for being so upset though, she was rather angry herself, so Mew understood where they were coming from, but to be honest she was more worried than angry. After what she had seen Team Plasma do the night before, and now hearing this from Arceus, Mew was becoming very concerned about the near future. She knew that Team Plasma had been searching for the locations of legendary Pokémon for years now, but to actually hear that they had succeeded in finding and capturing one was disconcerting.

"Please everyone calm down!" Arceus yelled over all of the shouting. "I know that you are angry, but have to remain calm if we want to help Articuno and the others."

Palkia raised a brow at their leader's words, "Others?"

"Yes," Arceus confirmed quietly, "I know for certain that Team Plasma also has Raikou, and Manaphy."

"WHAT!" Suicune and Entei roared simultaneously, both of them jumping to their feet, obviously surprised by the news.

Kyogre's reaction, however, was less noisy. "They took the runt? When?"

"When-_how_-did Team Plasma take Raikou!" Entei exclaimed. "We just saw him several days ago!"

"I'm not entirely sure how they managed to capture them myself," Arceus admitted, "all I know is that they were taken about two days ago, that's what the nearby wild Pokémon told me."

"This is all Zekrom and Reshiram's fault!" Giratina suddenly exclaimed, startling everyone at the random change of subject. "If they hadn't let that despicable _human_ capture them in the first place all those years ago, Team Plasma wouldn't have the power that they have now!"

Zekrom and Reshiram, the legendary Dragon Duo; Mew hadn't seen those two in a long time. Twelve years to be exact. Many legendary Pokémon believed that they were the reason Ghetsis rose to power and took over the Pokémon League. Of course, Mew didn't know for sure if that was entirely true or not, since neither of the two dragons was here to explain their side of the story. However, it was no secret that Zekrom and Reshiram have allowed themselves to be captured by humans before, and the psychic could understand why Zekrom let Ghetsis capture him with the human's vision of a 'new ideal world'. The only thing that really confused her was Reshiram. Where did he fit into all of this? The Dragon Duo _never_ let the same human capture both of them at the same time, so _who_ had captured Reshiram?

"Settle down, Giratina," Arceus advised sternly, bringing Mew out of her thoughts, "I did not call you all here to discuss who is at fault or not."

The dragoness growled deeply in her throat, frustrated, but otherwise kept her mouth shut. She did however narrow her eyes at Palkia and Dialga when they snickered at the sight of her getting rebuked by Arceus, but when they saw her glare the two dragons instantly ceased their laughter.

"So why did you bring us here, Arceus?" Celebi quietly asked, tilting her head to the side.

"I wanted to warn you." The powerful legendary replied. "Team Plasma is getting bolder in their movements, and have already started to go after some of you here." At this Arceus glanced over briefly at the Weather Trio. "If they do start trying to hunt you down, do _not_ take them lightly. Humans, as you all know, are very resourceful."

"What about Raikou, Articuno, and Manaphy?" Suicune questioned. "Are we going to do nothing to help them?!"

"We will help them, Suicune, eventually." Arceus answered. "But first we must come up with a plan. We can't just go running off blindly. If we do there may be a good chance that we'll get captured as well. Besides, you know how I feel about harming humans."

"Even though they deserve it," Groundon muttered.

Arceus gave Groundon a disapproving look; apparently he had heard the ground-type. "You may feel that way, Groundon, but I do not, which reminds me, you, Kyogre, and Rayquaza need to calm the storm that you have created across Hoenn, and Kanto. It's beginning to be a big problem for all of the Pokémon and humans that live there."

"Our apologies, Arceus," Rayquaza replied respectfully, "we did not mean for it to go so far. It's just that Team Plasma has become very bothersome as of late, and they have been trying our patience."

Kyogre snorted, "That's putting it mildly."

Arceus nodded, "I understand, but it is still a problem, and I expect you to fix it."

"We'll try," Rayquaza said, somewhat hesitantly. He wasn't exactly sure if he and his brothers would be able to control their tempers when they returned back to Hoenn, but they would try.

"That's all I ask." Arceus then returned his attention to the other legendries. "I will try to come up with a plan to save Articuno, Raikou, and Manaphy as quickly as I can, but until then remember what I have told you, do not underestimate Team Plasma. You are all dismissed."

Mew sighed as she watched her brethren slowly filter out of the Hall of Origin. None of them looked very happy at the moment, especially Suicune, Entei, Zapdos, and Moltres. At the moment the four of them were conversing quietly off to the side, and the small psychic didn't like the determined expressions on all of their faces. It made them seem like they were about to do something rash, and dangerous. Mew made a mental note to tell Celebi to keep an eye on Entei and Suicune, in case they did try to do something in the near future.

"Mew," Arceus called after the psychic, gaining her attention, "could you come speak with me for a moment."

Mew nodded and flew up to powerful legendary, and gave him an inquiring look, "Yes, Arceus?"

"I was wondering if you could warn Mewtwo about Team Plasma," Arceus requested, "he may be your clone, but he is a legendary Pokémon, so he may be a target as well."

"Don't worry, I'll tell him." Mew had been planning to tell Mewtwo anyway.

"Thank you, Mew."

"You're welcome." And with one final goodbye to Arceus, Mew left the Hall of Origin and teleported back to the Kanto region.

* * *

"Thanks again, little guy." Molly told the small Sandshrew as she patted it on the head. "We would never have gotten out of that cave without your help."

"Shrew," the mouse-like Pokémon squealed back happily.

Aiden however, huffed at the girl's words. "Oh please, we would've been fine! I could have gotten us out of there . . . eventually!"

"Yeah, _eventually_," Molly rolled her eyes disbelievingly, and then muttered, "more like a hundred years."

After hours and hours of wandering through Mt. Moon, Sandshrew had finally led them to the exit, and in the distance Molly could see the night lights of Pewter City. The girl smiled at the sight, even the heavy rain couldn't dampen her bright, cheery mood or the relief of finally getting out of that blasted cave! Molly had actually thought that they would be lost in there forever, but Sandshrew had proven her wrong, and at the moment the girl was treating the ground-type as her own little hero. Now she was a step closer to reaching Pallet Town and hopefully saving her aunts and uncle!

"I think it would be best if we camped here for the night, Molly," Aiden advised as he observed the heavy rain pouring from the dark, cloudy sky, "that way we'll have shelter from the storm. Plus it's late, and I don't feel like walking another two miles in the rain at night."

"You're probably right," Molly agreed, warily watching lightning flash across the sky.

The two children quickly set up a small campsite, and crawled into their sleeping bags once they were finished. Eevee and Absol both laid down next to their respective trainers once they were settled, and Sandshrew curled up beside the kids' two backpacks, making sure that no other wild Pokémon would take off with them while they were asleep. Originally, Molly hadn't wanted to spend the night in Mt. Moon, mostly due to their run in with the Zubats and Golbats, but being there surrounded by her friends, she figured it wasn't so bad. From within her sleeping bag, the girl gave Eevee an affectionate pat on the head as he curled up beside her, snuggling into her arms.

"Night guys," Molly whispered as she closed her eyes, drifting off to sleep.

* * *

**Review Please!**

**Happy Easter!**

**I'm still taking suggestions for Molly and Aiden's journey to Pallet Town, so if you have any ideas please share. :)**

**And sorry for not updating sooner, I was very busy the past couple of weeks. **

**Also, what do you guys think of Sandshrew? Should he stay, or should he go?**


	10. Chapter 10

Pokemon: New Beginning

Chapter 10 – Encounters in Pewter City

"Stop it."

Molly blinked, and raised an eyebrow at the accusing tone in her friend's voice, but then smiled innocently as she glanced at the sulking form of Aiden out of the corner of her eye. "Stop what?"

"That!" Aiden cried out indigently, waving his hands over in the girl's general direction.

"I have no idea what you're talking about." Molly replied dismissively, but there was a distinct hint of amusement in her voice, and she gave the boy another innocent smile.

_Too innocent_, Aiden thought grumpily. "Yes you do, don't pretend that you don't! Now help me get rid of it!"

Molly's eyes trailed down towards the little Sandshrew that was happily skipping beside Aiden's feet. It was hard to believe that all this fuss was because of one small Pokémon. Then again, the girl thought with a slight laugh, it was rather funny how the normally serious boy was getting so worked up about something so trivial.

"Now why should I do that? Sandshrew seems to be _so_ happy with you. Why rain on the little guy's parade?" Then, as an afterthought, Molly added, "Besides, this is what happens when you feed stray Pokémon."

"I only fed him because _you_ had already eaten all of your food!" Aiden yelled in exasperation, his golden eyes blazing. "Then when Sandshrew gave you his stupid 'kicked-puppy-look' you asked-no _demanded_-me to feed him some of _my_ breakfast, and now he won't stop following me!"

"And what do you want me to do about it?"

"_Fix it_!" The boy hissed.

Rolling her eyes, the girl came to a stop in the middle of the path that she and her companions had been walking on, and turned to face Aiden, hands on her hips. "And how do you suggest that I do that, _genius_?"

"I don't know, and I don't care. Just make it go away."

"Why?" Molly inquired, while glancing down at the oblivious, but happy Sandshrew next to the boy's heels. It seemed the ground-type wasn't paying attention to their conversation. "I don't see the problem in letting him tag along."

"Because," Aiden said tersely, "I don't have another Eclipse Ball to capture him with."

"So? Just stick him inside your backpack, like I did with Eevee."

"He's _wild_, Molly," the boy began, emphasizing the 'wild' part. "Sandshrew won't like being confined into a small space so suddenly."

"Well, you'll never know unless you try, right?" Ignoring her friend's glare, the girl took the boy's backpack off of his shoulders, and crouched down so that she was closer to the ground-type's eye-level, while giving the Pokémon a smile. "Hey, Sandshrew, do you think you can do a _huge_ favor for me and Aiden?"

The mouse-like Pokémon tilted its head curiously at the young girl's words, "Shrew?"

"We're about to arrive at Pewter City, and we don't you to be seen by anyone, so do you think you can stay inside Aiden's backpack for a little while?" Molly asked sweetly, still giving the Pokémon an encouraging smile as she held out the backpack for him to see. "You'd _really_ be helping us out."

"Molly . . ." Aiden tried to tell the girl that her plan wasn't going to work, that Sandshrew wasn't properly trained and would most likely not understand, but she shook him off.

Sandshrew silently mulled over the young human girl's request, debating if whether or not he should listen to her. He personally didn't like the idea of being stuck inside a small space, but she had been very kind towards him ever since he had met the two children, though, so he suppose that it wouldn't hurt to follow the girl's request. Having come to his conclusion, Sandshrew gave the girl a little 'thumbs up', and said, "Shrew!"

Aiden felt his jaw drop.

"Thanks a lot, Sandshrew." Molly said sincerely as she watched the little ground-type hop inside Aiden's backpack without hesitation. Feeling very accomplished with herself, the girl stood up, backpack in hand, and turned to give the boy a smug look. "You were saying?"

Aiden's stupefied expression-which was very amusing in Molly's opinion-morphed into one of extreme irritation. Scowling, he grumpily snatched his now heavier backpack out of the girl's hands, and began marching towards Pewter City without another word. Molly smirked gleefully at the scene, delighted that she had finally gotten under the stoic boy's skin, and cheerfully trailed after her now sulking companion.

* * *

"_So, what took you so long_?" Mewtwo asked Mew when he suddenly felt her teleport beside him.

"_Sorry I'm late, but I had to speak with Celebi about something important_." The pink psychic-type informed her clone with a sigh. "_In fact there's something I need to tell you as well_."

"_Is that so_?" Mewtwo inquired in a bored tone.

"_Yes, and it's very serious, so you better not take it lightly_."

That caught Mewtwo's attention. With a troubled frown, the clone removed his gaze from the young children he had been watching over, and glanced over at Mew. The pink legendary seemed very anxious, and Mewtwo could not sense her normally fun-loving aura that surrounded her on a daily basis. Something very big indeed must have happened at the Hall of Origin for Mew to behaving so gravely all of a sudden.

"_I'm listening_."

"_Team Plasma finally managed to capture a legendary Pokémon, three in fact, and Arceus believes that this is just the beginning of their plans. He thinks that Team Plasma is going to try and capture all the rest of the legendries, and he wanted me to warn you, in case they came after you too_." Mew explained carefully, her long, elegant tail flicking nervously behind her as she studied her brother's face closely, waiting for his reaction.

"_I doubt that Team Plasma will come looking for me_." Mewtwo replied after a short pause, looking away.

Mew raised a brow at the male's bold statement, "_And what makes you so sure about that?_"

"_Because I erased the memories of my existence from every Team Rocket member, or any other human, besides Ash and a few of his friends that could possibly lead Giovanni, or anyone else for that matter, back towards me_." The clone elaborated. "_That was over twenty years ago, and so far no one has come searching for my whereabouts, so I highly doubt Team Plasma will either_."

"_You can never be too sure, Mewtwo_." Mew insisted. "_Correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't Ash remember you back in Mt. Quena after you had already erased his memory once_? _Who's to say Giovanni won't do the same_?"

"_If by any chance Giovanni does happen to remember me, he currently doesn't have the resources to track me down, with Team Plasma having practically taken over the world_, _and Team Rocket currently out of commission_."

Mew still wasn't convinced. "_There are some former members of Team Rocket that have joined up with Team Plasma, and Giovanni might be among them. What if he tells Ghetsis about you, Mewtwo_?"

"_Giovanni would rather swallow a Qwilfish whole than reveal my existence to Ghetsis_." Mewtwo replied with a scoff. "_Besides, I doubt that Giovanni is with Team Plasma. That man is someone who gives orders, not receive them. I don't think he would tolerate Ghetsis very much_."

The pink legendary sighed defeat, knowing that she had lost this argument. "_If you're sure . . . just promise me that you'll be careful_?"

"_Aren't I always_?"

Mew rolled her eyes and wisely decided not to comment. Instead she changed the subject. "_So do you still want me to look after the children_?"

"_Of course, I haven't said otherwise_." The clone answered smoothly.

"_But why_," Mew inquired, glancing down towards the children in confusion. "_Why are you so . . . _attached_ to humans you've never met before_?"

Mewtwo gave the small, pink Pokémon an 'are-you-kidding-me' kind of look, and Mew felt as if she had missed something very important.

"_What_?" The female said defensively.

"_Honestly, Mew_ . . ." Mewtwo muttered incredulously. "_You haven't figured it out yet_?"

"_Figured what out?!_" Mew cried out in frustration, growing tired of her brother's vagueness.

"_Who did you say that girl reminded you of, Mew_?"

"_I don't see how this is-_"

"-_Just answer the question_." Mewtwo said wearily.

"_. . . Ash_," Mew eventually replied.

The clone nodded. "_And why do you suppose that is_?"

"_Coincidence_?" She guessed.

Mewtwo sighed, and decided that he should just give the oblivious female a straight answer instead of beating around the bush. "_Mew, that girl is Ash's daughter_."

For a moment, there was nothing but silence.

"_WHAT?!_"

* * *

Pewter City was a lot different from Cerulean City, Molly realized very quickly as she and Aiden walked down the concrete sidewalks. While Cerulean City's buildings gleamed like the ocean on a bright, sunny day, Pewter City's seemed just as rigid, and compact as the mountains that surrounded it. Aiden thought it was fascinating how many of the skyscrapers were made out of different types of stone, which gave them a unique effect, but Molly thought it was rather dull, and, therefore, boring. It also made her miss her hometown that much more.

"So, Aiden," Molly began, wanting to get her mind off of Cerulean, "what do we do now that we're in Pewter City?"

"Well, now that we're in the next city, it should be safe enough to use this." Aiden replied as he pulled out an electronic device, similar to Molly's PokéGear, from his pocket.

"What's that?" The girl asked curiously.

"It's called a PokéNav." Aiden explained, and he held it out for the girl to get better look. "It's what I use to make phone calls, and a lot of other stuff."

"Cool, but what are you going to do with it?"

"I'm going to try and call my parents, and get some help." The boy elaborated. He then turned his head to absorb his surroundings, and instantly noticed the large number of people walking about. "But we're too out in the open; someone might overhear us and alert Team Plasma."

"We could try that alley over there." Molly suggested, pointing towards a side street between two restaurant buildings.

Aiden smiled. "Perfect."

Looking as inconspicuously as possible, the two friends casually walked over towards the alley, and once they were sure that no one was really paying attention to them they quickly entered the narrow street. It was slighter darker with the two buildings blocking out the sunlight, but the alley was clean, and both Molly and Aiden were pleased to see that they were the only ones there.

"Alright, let's call Mom first." Aiden announced as he scrolled through the list of contact numbers. When he found his mother's name he clicked the call button, and waited patiently for her to pick up. The boy frowned though when the woman didn't answer, and his eyes widened when a tiny message appeared on his screen. "No service!" He repeated incredulously, completely dumbfounded.

"Maybe the weather is blocking the signal?" Molly said sympathetically, while staring up at the dark sky overhead. It had stopped raining sometime last night, but now it seemed that the reprieve was going to be short lived as more thunder clouds continued to move in.

"What about yours? See if it works." Aiden asked, recalling the girl playing on her PokéGear during his first day of class when they had moved on to math.

Molly gave the boy a look. "Aiden, I left my phone in my room, _inside_ the Cerulean Gym. It's probably a pile of ashes by now."

"Oh . . . right." Awkwardly clearing his throat, Aiden said, "I guess we'll just have to go to the Pokémon Center and try one of their phones then."

Molly nodded in agreement, and followed the boy closely as they headed towards the exit of the alley. Before they could fully exit the empty street however, the two children came to a sudden stop when they heard an unknown voice coming from just outside the alley. Aiden pressed a finger to his lips, silently telling the girl beside to stay quiet, and cautiously poked his head around the edge of the stone wall of one of the restaurants that they were standing between. His golden eyes immediately noticed a man sitting at one of the tables outside the coffee shop to his left, and he was wearing one of Team Plasma's uniforms, except this one was black and more modern looking than the normal outfits. Thankfully the man was facing the other way, so he didn't notice that he was being watched as the waiter next to him took his order.

Carefully, Aiden retreated back inside the alley, and quietly motioned for Molly to follow him. The girl gave him a puzzled look, but she kept her mouth shut and silently trailed after her friend. Once they were a safe distance away, and out of earshot, Molly decided to finally ask the question that had been plaguing her mind.

"What did you see?" She whispered.

"There's a fully upgraded Team Plasma member out there." Aiden enlightened, crossing his arms. "We'll have to leave through the other side."

"What do you mean by 'upgraded'?" Molly inquired as she and Aiden headed over towards the other end of the alley.

"It looks like Team Plasma has issued new uniforms, and they look like that they're made for stealth, so we have to careful from now on, they could be hiding anywhere." The boy replied. Once they reached the opposite end of the narrow street, Aiden cautiously poked his head around the corner, and searched for any signs of Team Plasma. When he saw none, the boy sighed in relief. "Looks like the coast is clear. Let's go."

Warily the two children left the alley, and quietly began walking through the crowds of people on the street. For a moment, Molly waited to see if Aiden would say anything about what their next move would be, and if they were still going to the Pokémon Center, but when he didn't she decided to break the silence.

"What are we going to do now, Aiden?" Molly said softly with a worried frown as the duo wandered down the crowded sidewalk. "Are we still going to try to call your parents at the Pokémon Center?"

"Yeah," the boy replied after a short pause. "Hopefully we'll be able to reach them."

"And if not?" Molly said hesitantly.

"Then we'll try again in Viridian City."

Molly decided to drop the conversation there, and silently watched as Aiden pulled out his PokéNav from his pocket for the second time that day. The boy then pulled up a map of Pewter City onto his screen, and began searching for the quickest route to the Pokémon Center.

"This way," Aiden declared, once he found out how to get to their destination, and turned right at the next intersection.

About ten minutes later, the two children finally arrived at the familiar red-roofed building, and the moment they were inside Aiden immediately headed over towards the video-phones that were located on the left side of the building, with Molly not far behind him. Drawing up a chair, the boy sat in front of one of the computer-like machines, and instantly began dialing his mother's phone number once again. While Aiden was busy trying to contact his parents, Molly carefully set her backpack on floor, mindful of her small friend inside, and sat in one of the nearby chairs, gazing inquisitively at her surroundings.

From the front desk, Nurse Joy gave them a curious glance, since she didn't recognize the two children, but then returned her attention back towards her work when a familiar man walked through the automatic doors. The man looked to be about in his late fifties, was tall, and had dark skin and hair, though it seemed to have more grey in it than the last time she saw him. The man gave her a casual wave and a smile as he strolled up to the counter, but Joy could tell that it was strained at best. Still, she returned his greeting with a small smile of her own.

"Morning, Nurse Joy," the man said rather wearily, leaning his elbow against the front desk, "how've you been?"

"Good morning, Flint," Joy replied cheerily, "and I've been fine, thanks for asking. So how can I help you today?"

"Well," Flint began somewhat sheepishly, "you see one of my _friends_ ate a little too much breakfast this morning, and now he has a stomach ache, think you can help him out?"

The woman giggled softly at the man's words. She was well aware his _friends'_ antics by now. "Of course," she announced brightly, "which one of your friends has the stomach ache?"

"The big guy, if you know what I mean." Flint replied with a small smile.

"Alright, I'll be back in a moment."

Flint watched the nurse disappear as she headed down the hallway towards the store room, where she kept-or hid-all of her Pokémon medicine, and once she was out sight he began glancing around the Pokémon Center while he waited for her to return. There were several people waiting in line for breakfast in the Cafeteria, and there was a young couple with their three children sitting in the lobby as they waited for their room to get ready, nothing unusual. When his gaze drifted off towards the video-phones, however, he stilled when he caught sight of a familiar head with black hair.

A young girl, who looked so much like Misty and Ash, was sitting next to a boy in front of one of the video-phones, who also seemed achingly familiar to Flint, and they appeared to be trying to call someone. For a moment, Flint wondered if he was just imagining things as he remembered what he had seen on the news yesterday morning, and if the girl several feet in from of him could possibly be the daughter of one of his son's best friends.

Molly paused in her 'sight-seeing' when she felt as if someone was watching her, and glanced over her shoulder. At first she didn't see anything unusual, but when her gaze moved towards the front lobby, her body suddenly stiffened, like a Deerling caught in the headlights. A tall, dark skinned man with brown hair was staring at her and Aiden from where he stood by the front desk, and the girl was a bit unnerved by the unwanted attention. When the man suddenly made direct eye contact with her Molly jumped and instantly looked away. Timidly she reached out her hand and tapped Aiden's shoulder.

"Hold on a second, Molly, I'm busy." The boy brushed her off distractedly in an annoyed tone. He then groaned in frustration when the computer failed to send out his call for the third time, and another 'unable to make call' message appeared on the screen. "Stupid thing isn't working . . ."

"Aiden," Molly whispered, a hint of urgency in her voice, as she tapped his shoulder again. When he didn't respond the girl said a little bit more firmly, "Aiden!"

"What?!" The boy snapped, finally removing his gaze from the computer screen to give the girl an irritated look.

"There's a man over there by the front desk, and he keeps staring at us." Molly informed her friend, ignoring his rude behavior.

Aiden blinked in surprise, his previous annoyance fading as he as took in the urgency of the girl's words, and discreetly turned his head to get a better look of the front desk. His golden eyes immediately spotted the man that Molly had mentioned, but for some reason he seemed familiar, even though Aiden was sure that he had never met this man before. Looking away, the boy returned his gaze back to Molly.

"Well?" The girl prompted, slightly worried by his silence.

"I don't think that he's going to bother us." Aiden finally stated after a moment of thought. "If it makes you feel better we're about to leave anyway."

Molly frowned at that . "Phones not working here either?"

Aiden shook his head, and the girl could see the sadness in his eyes. "Guess we're on our own."

The sound of the automatic doors opening caused both Molly and Aiden to glance over towards the front entrance of the Pokémon Center, and their eyes widened fearfully when they saw two Team Plasma grunts step inside the building. Thankfully the two men were looking straight ahead as they entered-or more specifically, at Nurse Joy, who had just returned from retrieving Flint's errand-so the children didn't waste any time ducking behind a nearby couch that had been placed next to the video-phones.

"What do we do?" Molly hissed in a quiet whisper, her eyes staring fearfully into Aiden's.

I-I don't know." Aiden replied, his brows narrowing in concentration. "Let's just wait and see what they're doing here."

Meanwhile, Nurse Joy gazed at the members of Team Plasma in surprise, while swiftly hiding the Pokémon medicine in her pocket. "Can I help you, gentlemen?"

"Yes," one of the men spoke up, "we're looking for two children, a young girl and a young boy, probably between the ages of eight and eleven. The girl has black hair, and the boy has brown hair. Have you seen anyone that matches that description?"

Nurse Joy briefly glanced knowingly towards the video-phones out of the corner of her eye, and then returned her attention back to Team Plasma. "No, I haven't seen any children like the ones you're looking for. Besides, what makes you think that they would come to the Pokémon Center?"

"One of our men spotted them entering the city earlier this morning, and it looked like that they were heading this way." The other man informed, eyeing the woman suspiciously.

From behind the couch, Molly and Aiden shared a bewildered look. Neither one of them had seen any Team Plasma members when they had first entered Pewter City, so where had they been hiding? Molly's eyes then narrowed when she remembered what Aiden had said back in the alley after they had seen one of the evil organization's members at the coffee shop.

"_It looks like Team Plasma has issued new uniforms, and they look like that they're made for stealth, so we have to careful from now on, they could be hiding anywhere." _

"Hiding anywhere . . ." The girl whispered thoughtfully.

"Why is the _great and powerful_ Team Plasma searching for a couple of kids?"

Molly blinked at the sound of the barely hidden hostile tone coming from an unknown voice, and warily sat up straighter to peek over the top of the couch. Aiden, who was also curious, joined her as well. The children immediately noticed that the two grunts were giving the tall, dark-skinned man from earlier annoyed glares, and silently deducted that he must've been the one who had spoken out.

"That," the first Team Plasma member hissed, "is none of your concern, especially for former Gym Leaders like yourself, Flint."

Molly's eyes widened when she heard that last statement, and out of the corner of her eye she saw Aiden stiffen, while staring at 'Flint' as if he had just realized something very important that he hadn't noticed before. From behind the couch, the girl studied the older man in amazement, hardly believing that she was actually seeing another Gym Leader, just like her mother and aunts. She recalled that her aunts, and uncle on some occasions, would always speak fondly about their fellow Gym Leaders, but she never considered the possibility of meeting one of them in person. Molly then felt hope blossom in her chest when she wondered if this man had been friends with her family once upon a time, and if he could help her and Aiden.

Something soft and furry poked Molly's leg, and the girl looked down in surprise to Eevee taping her with his paw. Before she could scold the little normal-type, and tell him get inside her backpack though, Eevee started gesturing frantically towards Aiden's bag, catching her off guard. Confused by her friend's strange behavior, Molly turned around to glance at Aiden's backpack, and felt her heart skip a beat when she saw that it was open, with no Sandshrew inside it.

_Calm down, Molly_, the girl tried to reassure herself. _No one has spotted him yet so he couldn't have gotten too far_.

"AHH! It's a rat! Get it away, get it away!" A shrill and very frightened female voice shrieked loudly, gaining everyone's attention within the Pokémon Center.

A sudden feeling of dread grew in the pit of her stomach as Molly warily glanced over the top of the couch. Her eyes immediately noticed that the mother of a nearby family that had been waiting in the lobby was standing on top of a chair, and right below her was Sandshrew, who was staring innocently up at the frightened woman while her husband and children stared at the creature with wide eyes, completely baffled.

Aiden turned to give the girl an extremely displeased glare. "For the record, I blame you for this."

Molly just smiled sheepishly in response. The boy rolled his eyes and unhooked Absol's Poké-ball from his belt with a scowl.

"Absol, go!" Aiden announced as he stood up and threw the round object that contained his friend. A blinding white light erupted from the sphere, and Aiden's starter appeared the very next second, readily waiting for his trainer's command.

"Absol, go and get Sandshrew!" The boy instructed, while he and Molly quickly swung their backpacks over their shoulders, getting ready to run at any second.

"Sol!" The dark-type said with a nod, and began sprinting towards where the small ground-type was located. The people inside the center could only stare in amazement at the Pokémon's appearance as it dashed past them, Flint and the Team Plasma grunts included, though, it was for different reasons.

"I don't think so! Haunter, stop that Absol!" One of the Team Plasma grunts yelled, snapping out of his stupor, as he tossed a poke-ball into the air.

"You too, Ariados!" The other said fiercely, releasing his Pokémon as well.

Absol was forced to come to a halt when the two Pokémon appeared in front him in flash of bright light, blocking his path to Sandshrew, and he growled threateningly at them as he prepared for the upcoming battle. The ghost-like Pokémon, Haunter, merely stuck out its tongue in response, while its partner, Ariados, hissed warningly at the dark-type.

"Two against one, great," Aiden muttered, frustrated. He then glanced down towards Eevee, who was standing by Molly's feet. "Ever been in a Pokémon battle before, Molly?"

The girl seemed taken aback by the boy's question, and hesitantly replied, "Uh, no."

"Well," Aiden began slowly as he narrowed his eyes at his opponents, "today is a good day to learn how. Send out Eevee."

Molly gave him an incredulous look. "Wh-what?"

"Just do it. I have an idea on how to get out of here, but I need your help." The boy explained, and out of the corner of his eye he saw Flint cautiously sneaking towards one of the side exits that would lead to the parking lot behind the Pokémon Center, car keys and Eclipse Ball in hand.

"Um, okay." The girl looked down at the small normal-type by her feet, took a deep breath, and tentatively said, "Eevee, I need you to go out there and help Absol, understand?"

Eevee smiled confidently, his brown eyes full of determination, and with a quick, yet firm nod he ran up to Absol's side, waiting for battle. Despite her worries, Molly couldn't help smile faintly at her little friend's bravery, and silently promised that she would try to do the same. This may be her first Pokémon battle, but she was determined to do her best, and send those grunts running all the way back to Unova.

One of the team Plasma grunts, the one who had sent out the Haunter, smirked when he saw Eevee, and how small he was. "This is going to be a piece of cake."

Molly glared at the man, and Eevee's fur bristled angrily.

They were going to make him eat those words. _That_ was promise!

* * *

**Sorry about the late update. I was very busy with studying for the last few major tests for school, along with other school related events, but its summer now and I plan on writing a whole lot before the next school year. :)**

**And Molly is about to have her first real Pokémon battle in Pewter City! This will be fun to write! And Flint makes his 'first' appearance!**

**Now some of you guys have asked about what's going on with Ash or the rebellion, and I promise that everything will be answered eventually, but for the most part Molly won't find out a whole lot until she reaches Pallet Town (which will be _very_ soon). Flint will reveal some things, but not everything. I hope that answers some of your questions. **

**Review Please! **


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